The crimson prince
by immortal1145
Summary: An early meeting with kurama allows Naruto to take his place among the greats, with his rise become one of the most feared shinobi in the Elemental Nations. Bleach elements, Benehime Naruto. I won't nothing, thanks for Corruptmonk for giving me inspiration for doing this fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

_**The crimson prince.**_

A 6-year old Uzumaki Naruto was currently sitting on the roof of one of the largest buildings in Konoha while observing the busy streets below. Unlike other kids, the whiskered blonde didn't have a smile on his face. It was the total opposite.

Instead of the usual child-like happiness that kids his age should have, a frown was visible that reflected an indifferent persona that no child should have.

Naruto observed the crowd below as he leaned forward on the rails. He raised his right hand and saw the healed slash mark on his wrist. This had been the result of one of the few attempts he had of ending his life. A life that he no longer wanted to partake since it was marred with suffering and hatred.

The villagers were blatant in their views of him as he strolled down the busy streets of Konoha. First, he didn't know why he was hated, ridiculed; and sometimes, attacked – beaten to an inch of his life. But no matter how much the mob left him bruised and wounded, it would just heal up the next day with no one the wiser.

In terms of history, Naruto didn't have much compared to other children who enjoyed the shelter and love that their parents showered them. As long as he could remember, he lived in one of the orphanages in the village. He stayed there for four years. Four years of loneliness and sadness. His caretakers didn't like him; they were obvious with their dislike by feeding him moldy food and gave him the smallest room with the barest of necessities – a broken bed, a tattered blanket, and a bug-infested pillow. His clothes could be considered as rags which the matron and the rest of the caretakers foisted on him. Considering that he was still a naïve boy then, he didn't care and treated it as kindness.

He endured it until he was thrown out by the matron to the unforgiving streets of Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaf. Of course, the news of his leaving the orphanage reached the ears of his surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage, so he was given his very own apartment in one of the run-down apartments located in the village slums.

When Naruto looked back to that particular memory, he couldn't deny the fact that his current housing was loads better compared to his threadbare room in the orphanage.

The indifferent façade that he had now wasn't present a year ago. In fact, he had a bubbly personality that showed true smiles even to people who hated him. However, an attack that happened a year ago forced him to change. It forever took the naïve smiles and laughter to be replaced by an indifferent persona with no love for life.

The warm smiles were replaced by a cold frown that would chill anyone who saw it.

The warm blue eyes that reflected the happiness of life was no longer present to be replaced by a cold icy blue that would send shivers down anyone's spine.

It was a year ago that everything changed. The attacks got worse after he was thrown out of the orphanage. He would be chased by a rampaging mob which eventually grew in intensity when the people realized that the shinobis who were keeping guard of the village wasn't doing anything to stop it.

It was a year ago that he discovered the source of his misfortune.

It was a year ago that he discovered one of the village's most dark secrets.

It was a year ago that he was beaten to an inch of his life and finally found the source of his new outlook.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for him, a powerful blow from a shinobi knocked him unconscious. It was then that he met the beast that lay in wait inside of him.

The beast that would make hardened veteran shinobis wet their pants in fear.

The nine-tailed demon fox.

The Kyuubi no Yoko.

 **(Flashback)**

Naruto opened his eyes. He didn't see the alley which was the scene of the current brutal attack to his person. No, he saw that he was in a sewer of some sort. He was currently lying down on a very wet floor. The walls were dirty with pipes all going to who knows where. It must have been a trick of the light but the pipes were glowing blue and red.

Despite popular belief, Naruto wasn't stupid. He was intelligent but he hid it since he didn't know how the villagers would take it if the most hated child in the Village Hidden in the Leaf had a brain between his ears. No, he hid it and kept on smiling like an idiot. Despite the beatings he got and the obvious hatred leveled at him, he held a child-like innocence hoping against hope that everything would turn out alright.

This current attack, however, was enough for him. No longer could he hold on to his innocence. This attack was more brutal than the rest and he couldn't deny the fact that the villagers this time was extra vindictive considering the type of weapons they were carrying and using at him.

Fortunately, or unfortunately in this case, one of the villagers who was beating the hell out of him with a rusty knife was able to voice out the reason of why he was being treated that way as each blow was dealt. It must have been the rage and anger that the villager was feeling that eventually gave way to the revelation.

He was the Kyuubi.

The demon.

The nine-tailed fox.

His intelligence, however, denied this as blows upon blows were rained down on him. He couldn't be the Kyuubi since he was his own person.

He was Uzumaki Naruto.

The village pariah.

He wasn't the Kyuubi and deep down, he knew this to be true.

He looked around and observed the place he was in. He knew that he wasn't in the sewers of Konoha. He knew the sewers like the back of his hand since the underground catacombs of the village was his safe haven and escape route when the mobs would start chasing him. He would look for the nearest manhole and jump in, making his way along the maze-like cavern until he reached the manhole that was near the Hokage Tower where he would immediately go to his surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage, for safety or his apartment where he would hide without a peep until the crowd grew tired of looking for him.

No, this wasn't the Konoha sewers that he grew to love. This was something else.

Not knowing anything else to do, he pushed himself off the wet floor and started walking. He didn't know where to go but he decided to just follow the pipes since they would eventually lead to somewhere. While he walked, he checked his body and was surprised to discover that the wounds and bruises that were supposed to be there were none to be found. He couldn't even feel any pain. He knew that he healed fast, but he knew that the healing wasn't that fast to get rid of the aftermath of the attack, especially one of this caliber. This was further made true when he discovered his clothes were still intact. His white t-shirt with the red whirlpool symbol in the middle was still in one piece and as clean as ever. His blue shorts were still there, protecting his modesty if he ever had one to begin with considering his status in the village. Modesty was for the privileged, after all.

He shrugged it off as one of life's many mysteries as he continued to follow the cavern to who knows where.

He didn't know how long he walked but he eventually reached the end of the metaphorical maze he was traversing. Naruto found himself in a large, spacious room. At the opposite side of the entrance was a very large cage with bars as thick as his malnourished body. In the middle of the cage where a lock was supposed to be had a square paper with the kanji of 'Seal' written in black ink.

Naruto's mind was whirling as to what the cage could be holding considering how fortified it was. In fact, the question of where he was currently at was pulled up again. But before he could do anything else, a powerful voice emanated from the darkness behind the bars.

" **My container finally graced me with his presence."** The voice growled from somewhere in the darkness and reverberated across the room, amplifying its intensity. **"I was thinking that it would take a few years more before you would discover my presence but it seemed that the idiotic villagers have put you on the brink of life and death, forcing your consciousness to retreat deep within your mind."**

Naruto didn't say anything but instead peered into the darkness to try to determine who owned the voice that spoke to him. It didn't take long for him to see a pair of gigantic eyes looking at him - a pair of red eyes that spoke of power and cunning that could never belong to a human.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked calmly. He was scared, sure, but he was tired of showing his fear. The current attack from the villagers hardened him to the point that his emotions were starting to become an echo, a memory that was better ignored or forgotten.

" **Oh? Not scared are you?"** said the voice, though this time; there was an amused quality to it as if it found his lack of fear laughable.

"I am scared but I'm tired of wearing my emotions on my sleeves." replied Naruto as he approached the cage though he stopped a few scant meters away from it before peering into the cage while willing the darkness to disappear so he could see who he was talking to.

" **It seemed that the current idiocy of the villagers hardened my container."** The voice mused though Naruto could feel a tinge of anger and rage behind it which confused him. Why was the voice angry that he was attacked?

"Container?" Naruto asked the voice.

" **You already know who I am, boy."** The voice growled at him. **"I know that you have an intelligent mind, a prodigy you might say, that you chose to hide behind that stupid smile of yours. I know everything about you considering that I am inside you."**

Naruto thought about what the voice said. The voice of the villager who mentioned that he was the Kyuubi echoed in his head. If the villager was correct then…

"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked while dread rose from deep inside his hardening heart. But despite the admission, which he instinctively knew was correct; he continued to hold his gaze at the menacing red eyes staring back at him.

Instead of an answer, the blonde could hear movement from deep within the cage. It didn't take long for the owner of the voice to show itself and Naruto couldn't help but stare at the powerful figure in front of him.

The owner of the menacing eyes was gigantic and the physical structure was something that he only read in books. The creature was covered in red-orange fur. The facial structure was that of a fox though the rest of body was of a human-like structure. Nine large tails were waving behind the creature as if it had a life of its own.

" **You are correct, my container. I am the Kyuubi no Yoko. The nine-tailed demon fox."** Said Kyuubi as it revealed itself to its container and looking down at Naruto with a shrewd grin on its face.

"Why are you here? Didn't the Yondaime kill you five years ago? Better yet, where are we?" asked Naruto as he coldly stared at the legendary creature in front of him. He knew that he should be scared considering the tales he heard concerning the beast trapped in the cage in front of him; but he wasn't. In fact, he was more curious than scared and it showed with a slight tilt of his head that made him look like a fox.

Of course, Kyuubi saw the gesture and couldn't help but give a fang-filled grin at the fox-like attitude its container was showing.

" **To answer your question in order, I am here because I exist. The Yondaime didn't kill me but sealed me inside you since killing me was above his skills at that time nor it would ever reach such stage to deal me intense harm to purge my existence. And finally, we are inside your mind; or in this case, your soul."** Answered Kyuubi as he sat down on his haunches, tails wrapped around him. The posture was intimidating, to say the least.

"My soul…" Naruto trailed off as he digested the information. "If that is the case then you're sealed inside me. Meaning, the villagers were correct in saying that I am you."

Kyuubi shook its head and released a growl of anger which was followed by a wave of red energy that pushed past Naruto though the boy stood his ground and refused to give in to the menacing power that threatened to engulf him.

" **Don't insult me. You could never be me. Would a kunai placed in a storage scroll replace the name of the scroll? No human. You are not me. I am merely sealed inside you. You are my jailor, my container."** Kyuubi explained with a growl.

Naruto simply nodded at the explanation, his mind already processing the possibility of having the most powerful bijuu sealed inside him. There were questions plaguing his mind and he knew that the fox wouldn't be forthcoming with the information despite it knowing what he needed to know.

"I see. So this is the reason why the villagers kept attacking me and showing me nothing but hatred." Naruto said coldly with narrowed eyes, his mind running through the memories of the experience he faced from the residents of Konoha.

Kyuubi looked at those cold eyes and couldn't help but shiver at the intensity behind them. The bijuu could see that the current attack, a step up from the previous attempt to destroy its container, hardened the child in front of him.

No, its container could never be considered a child. Despite the age, the child in front of him was clearly a man.

A man that grew up in hatred and suffering that no human should ever be forced to endure.

" **You're correct, my container. However, that is neither here nor there. I'm sure you have questions in that prodigious mind of yours and you know that only I can grant you the answers you seek."**

"Correct, Kyuubi. But I don't see you being forthcoming with the information unless you get something out of it. If you're really a fox then it would only stand to reason that you have the same mannerism as your animal kin." Naruto drawled, recalling the book on the various animals given to him by his surrogate grandfather when he was taught how to read while he was still in the orphanage. Of course, he picked it up rather quickly and his photographic mind processing all the information it contained and embedding it into his thoughts in crystal clarity.

Kyuubi was amazed. Gone was the child in front of him to be replaced by a cold calculating human who was forced to endure the harshness of life. This was going to an enjoyable relationship. The bijuu shuddered in pleasure at the potential the boy, no man, held in him; a potential that can only be rivaled by a tailed beast. Kyuubi couldn't wait to tell its container of his proposition and it knew that it would be well received.

" **It seems that you know me well, my container. But despite what you think, my offer to answer your questions requires no payment. The 'seal' that keeps me inside you demands nothing less. You control everything and the only thing that was allowed of me by the Shinigami who supervised the sealing was access to your thoughts. The law of non-interference is in place and only you could lift it if you so desire."** The Kyuubi explained to its contained with a fanged grin.

"I see. So you would answer all my questions despite your unwillingness to do so. Interesting." Naruto mused out loud while looking around the room he was in. He noted the dreary atmosphere surrounding him. If this was his mind the he needed to do something about it. "You said that this is my soul and my mind?"

" **Yes."** Kyuubi said with a nod, curious as to what its container was thinking.

The bijuu saw its container close his eyes followed by a deep concentration on his face. It was speechless when the cavern morphed into pure darkness. Gone was the sewer-like cavern. Gone was the cage that held him in place. It was like as if the two of them were standing in darkness with no solid footing whatsoever.

Slowly, the darkness receded to reveal a large forest. Great trees with heights that reached the heavens above surrounded the large clearing they were in. The wet floor was replaced by a grassy field with flowers dotting here and there to add to its overall beauty. The final change was a sudden heat that seemed to surround its neck. It didn't take long for a collar to materialize around it with a name tag with the kanji of 'Seal' on its face.

Kyuubi growled in anger at being treated like a dog, a pet. A memory surfaced from its mind. A memory of red eyes with three black tomoes before darkness claimed him before he was sealed into the child. It's moment of anger was dispelled when its container spoke.

"Interesting. You were right when you said that I control everything in this place, my mindscape, so to speak." said Naruto as he looked around before his eyes settled on the collar that the bijuu was wearing. "Now that is an interesting development. I didn't 'imagine' the piece of accessory on your neck. It seemed that there is more to the Shinigami's seal. No matter how much I change the looks of my mindscape, the seal keeping you in place would still manifest itself in one form or another."

Kyuubi relaxed after hearing that explanation from the blonde. Its container didn't purposely place the demeaning accessory around its neck. It would let this go since its container had nothing to do with it.

" **You're correct, in a way."** said Kyuubi as it lay down on the soft grass, inwardly relishing the feel of nature underneath him. It was so long ago that he felt such sensation from nature and welcomed it with child-like glee. The bijuu made itself comfortable and crossed its front paws in front of him as he regarded its container who was already seated on the piece of rock that materialized behind him. It couldn't deny the fact that Naruto was a prodigy if he could command such change within his mind in just a short span of time. Intelligent men couldn't even begin to grasp the control that the brat had **. "So, boy. Tell me your questions and I will answer them to the best of my abilities."**

Naruto stared at the fox for a few seconds before the first question of many escaped his lips.

"What's your name?"

Kyuubi was surprised at the question. The bijuu was expecting more serious questions but the boy asked its name first. Interesting.

" **It seemed that you realized, how I don't know, that Kyuubi was a title and not my real name. I will humor you, human. My name is Kurama. A name given to me by my father."**

"Father?" Naruto asked curiously.

" **Yes, my father. The man that I owed my life to; the man that created me and the rest of my siblings; the man that is a legend of your kind; The Sage of the Six Paths, the Rikkudo Sennin."**

Now this piece of information surprised the blonde. He read that the Sage of the Six Paths was the founder of Ninjutsu but he didn't know the real history behind the man and the tailed beasts.

"I think this would be an interesting story to tell." said Naruto, not voicing his intent on learning the truth of the tailed beast though he knew that the fox would eventually tell him.

" **Indeed. If you're interested then listen well, human…"**

"Naruto. If we are going to hold a decent conversation then you might as well address me by my name, Kurama."

Kyuubi nodded to the request.

" **Naruto then. The story started with a great beast that ravaged the land when the Elemental Nations was still in its infancy. A beast that was even more powerful than I. The Juubi, the ten-tailed beast."**

"Ten tails? Now that is one part of history that I haven't heard about."

" **Of course you wouldn't since it happened a long time ago and was forgotten except for a few who loved to learn the true history of the world. But I digress, the Rikkudo Sennin, the man I considered as father, sealed the Juubi into his body, thus, making him the first jinchuuriki."**

"Jinchuuriki? Is that the name of those who had a demon sealed inside their body?" asked Naruto while unconsciously placing a hand on his stomach, not knowing that it was there that the seal of the Kyuubi was located.

" **Correct. But before I start, I commend you on having such knowledge. A five-year old such as yourself shouldn't know of such terms, more so understand them with ease."** Kyuubi complimented its container.

"I grew up faster than most, Kurama. It is both a blessing and a curse to be born with a well-developed mind. It was wrong of me to hide it but I had no choice in the matter if I wanted to live. However, I don't think I have the drive to live anymore unless I find something that would push me to continue in this dreadful existence that people call life." Naruto said bitter, his face grew colder if it was possible.

" **I have a proposition for you that you might find interesting but let me finish the story first since you expressed the desire to learn."** said Kyuubi. Naruto nodded in agreement. **"As I was saying, the Rikkudo Sennin, my father, was the first jinchuuriki which could be literally translated to 'Power of Human Sacrifice'." However, my father realized that the seal keeping the Juubi in place would shatter upon his death and release the demon again into the world of the living. So in order to avoid such powers from decimating the human race, my father used one of the techniques granted to him by the Rinnegan to separate the Juubi's chakra into nine entities. This gave birth to the tailed beasts that exist today."**

"The Rinnegan?" Naruto asked curiously, unfamiliar with the word.

" **The Rinnegan is the most powerful of the Three Great Eye Techniques that dwarfed the power of the Sharingan and Byakugan. According to my father, the Rinnegan allowed the user to have the power of Kami - the power of life and death, of creation and destruction. The Rikkudo Sennin used the creation powers of the Rinnegan to create nine living bodies to house the power of the Juubi, thus me and my brothers and sisters were born."**

"Interesting. I never knew that there were other eye techniques aside from the Byakugan and Sharingan." said Naruto as he rubbed his chin, an action that Kyuubi found weird considering that said person doing it was a boy. More like a man trapped in a boy's body.

" **There are other eye techniques aside from those three, minor ones with minor abilities that merited no distinction from the Great Three."**

"I see. Thanks for answering my question, Kurama. Please continue."

" **Anyway, the human race is prideful at best and couldn't stand the thought of having entities more powerful than them so thus began their goal to capture our powers and seal them into humans that they could control. However, we were too powerful for them and only father's descendants had the power to truly control us if the need arises."**

"Descendants? The Rikkudo Sennin had children?" Naruto asked in excitement. This was a piece of history that no longer existed and he craved to learn more.

" **Yes. It was hidden from the human race that the Rikkudo Sennin fathered three children who became legends in their own right. These three children were blessed by father with his own powers which manifested differently in all three of them. The firstborn was the father of the Senju Clan who inherited father's calming presence. This was the reason why Senju Hashirama had the power to subdue and calm us even when under the fit of rage. His Mokuton bloodline was the manifestation of father's power in him."**

" **The second born was the father of the Uchiha Clan and was gifted with father's eye, though it mutated to become the Sharingan as it is known today. The eye held its own unique abilities depending on the owner's power and mindset but its ultimate power towards the tailed beast was to put us in an illusion to trigger the rage we inherited from the Juubi. However, such power was sealed until the Sharingan's ultimate level is unlocked."**

" **Finally, the youngest son was the father of the Uzumaki Clan and gifted by father's god-like body. This was one of the reasons why the Uzumaki Clan was the fit holder of the tailed beast since they inherited the Sage's tolerance towards the bijuu's potent chakra. A side-effect to this is their healing factor and potent chakra reserves which you display in abundance, as well as their longer life span."**

"So you mean that my ability to heal rapidly from the various wounds I sustained from the attacks was because of the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline?" Naruto asked, mind already processing the information Kurama imparted to him.

" **Yes and no. You have the healing factor that is unique to your clan alone but it was further amplified by my presence inside you. It is known for a jinchuuriki to display the traits of the tailed beasts inside of them, like Shukaku's jinchuuriki who had complete dominion over sand and wind."**

"So what did I get from you if each jinchuuriki displayed unique traits according to the bijuu sealed inside them?"

" **Aside from the boost on your healing abilities that would be an invaluable asset in the battlefield, you have the ability to properly to reach a certain level of master over your régénération that you would become a pseudo immortal."**

"Hmmm… that is interresting, but that is not all you are offering me is it?"

" **Correct. I also offer to teach you how to use chakra at its fullest, I am one of the oldest beings alive in the world and I was sealed inside two other Uzumakis so I should be able to impart some of their knowledge on you, but we must keep this a secret for now at least."**

"I agree with you there. There are only a few I trust in this village - the Hokage which I treat like a grandfather, the Ichiraku Family, and some of the shinobis in the village who protected me from the attacks." said Naruto as he mentally listed the few people who he considered precious to him.

" **I know. As I told you, Naruto, I have access to your memories so everything that you experienced is known to me."**

"Hmmm." Was Naruto's reponse before nodding. "So, Kurama, when would this lessons begin?" asked Naruto with a little bit of excitement in his voice.

" **As soon as you're ready, Naruto. But I suggest that we hold that thought for now since I sensed something else being with us here."** and both of them at the source of a beautiful laughter, Naruto was completely overtaken by surprise because in front of him was a goddess given flesh, she was a pale-skinned young woman with icy blue eyes. She has long, crimson hair, which is partially tied up in the back in a long bun and falls behind her shoulders while a strand falls between her eyes, and is parted on the left side of her head by a blue, star-shaped hair clip. She wears a red kimono with large sleeves and a long hem, and has a pale yellow-green obi wrapped around her waist which is attached to a large, pale purple bow on her back.

"wh...who are you?" stuttered Naruto with a blush on his face, the woman was breathtakingly beautiful.

 _"hello Naruto kun, my name is Benehime and you can say That I am a part of you."_

 **"a part of him, what do you mean?"** asked kyubi

" _well you see kyubi san, Tge mixture of Naruto kun's chakra alongside with yours created me a,dans gave me sentinence, I am a part of Naruto, the embodiment of his fighting spirit and hisndesire to protect others."_ and both the bijuu and the five years old child accepted her explanation since they could feel their chakra inside her.

" _as much as would like to continue this delighteful conversation we will have to try another time since it's time for Naruto kun to wake up."_

Naruto agreed with that. He could sense his consciousness inside his mindscape wavering, meaning that he was waking up in the real world. He gave Kurama a smile which was his true smile.

"Thank you for being forthcoming with me, Kurama. I will see you soon." said Naruto before disappearing from the midscape. He opened his eyes in the real world and found himself in a familiar room with white-washed walls. He turned his head to see the Hokage looking at him with a worried look on his face.

 **(Flashback end)**

Naruto could clearly remember that day more than a year ago when he met Kurama for the first time. He didn't know it at that time but he gained two friends, two friends that helped him hold on to life despite the fact that he wanted to release himself from the mortal coil and join his parents in the afterlife.

" **I didn't know that you held us in such high regard, Naruto."** said Kurama in the bowels of his mind.

 _"me neither Naruto kun."_ said the sentinent sword.

" _Of course I do, Kurama."_ Naruto mentally replied as his eyes strayed to the scar on his wrist. _"I cursed myself for having such a potent bloodline from my ancestors since my actions of ending my life didn't work as well as I had hoped. If you weren't there then I would have thrown myself in a volcano just to end my pitiful existence. To be honest, you gave me a reason to live so that is why I'm still alive right now."_

" **And that reason would be?"** Kurama asked though the bijuu already knew the answer to that but this constant reminder would help his container cling to life and cease the pitiful attempts of cutting it short.

" _To be strong. Stronger than anyone in the Elemental Nation. To protect myself and those I deem worthy and those that are precious to me."_ Naruto replied with determination.

" **If that is the case then I suggest that we mosey along to your hidden training ground so we can get started with today's lesson."** said Kurama with a little excitement in the bijuu's voice.

" _Lesson?"_ Naruto asked curiously.

" **Since you already had complete control over your chakra then me and the princess will be teaching you to use in the various shinobi arts."**

Naruto didn't say anything but if one looked closer, they would see an excited gleam in his cold blue eyes. Giving the fox a mental nod, he pushed himself away from the rail and turned. He took a single step before disappearing from the roof towards his secret place to train with Kurama.

 _ **Time skip 1year**_

It had been one year since Naruto started his training under both Kurama and Benehime, and they saw that Naruto was a gentle of talent, his chakra control was nearly flawless, enough for Naruto to be med nin level, Kurama thought him bit about that, one was not sealed within the wife of one of the best médias nins to ever live and did not learn a thing or two about medicine. But to both Benehime's and Kurama's glee, Naruto's talents were in the fuinjutsu Kekkai jutsu and kenjutsu departements. That was not to say that he ducked in the other fields being a shinobi, just that he had a speciality. Speaking of Benehime she turned out to be a sword, Usually when sealed, Benihime is a beige-colored shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) with a curved handle and silver base. As the blade resides in a cane, the cane's handle is still the hilt and the shaft is the sheath, the command to unseal his Benehime is Awaken (okiro)

 **Benehime** takes the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword. The hilt's grip, which has a gentle black-decorative wrapping, bends forward at the end, with a pommel shaped overlap three times, and a crimson tassel dangling from its base. Instead of a tsuba, there is a U-shape guard covering three inches of blade, with a flower petal design. At the base of the guard is a red string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on the back side and a folded paper decoration on the front side. The blades hamon is straight, colored black with a silver edge. It remains straight and slim with a somewhat short size, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering to a point.

As for training, he spent most of it learning kenjutsu under Benehime how to wield her at her fullest potentiel, thanks to the kyubi his muscles and body were better than most seven year olds. Now Naruto was going towards his jiji to enjoy his company.


	2. Chapter 2

_**The crimson prince.**_

 **Chapter 2**

Hiruzen was not having a good day, his troubles started a couple of weeks ago when someone started attacking bandit camps around konoha. He remembered the first incident like it was yesterday.

 **Flashback start**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was currently enjoying a relaxing day in the Hokage Office since he was finished with his current batch of paperwork. He was brought out of his musings when a knock came from the door.

"Come in." said the Hokage as he settled himself behind his desk and put on his game face, so to speak. His secretary, Akiko, peeked in and informed him that there were three Jounin's looking for him. "Let them in please, Akiko-san."

Three Jounin's filed in with their respective Genin teams before standing in attention in front of his desk.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama." Greeted the three Jounins with a bow followed closely by their Genin charges.

"At ease. Weren't you three supposed to be on a mission from this morning?" Sarutobi asked, confused. These three Jounins took their respective missions of exterminating three different bandit camps that surrounded Konoha. In fact, this was a monthly mission considering that bandits tend to crop up to create problems with the local business community. After all, it was bad for business to let bandits roam the countryside unopposed and the village had a budget for it just in case the situation came up.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. My Genins and I encountered a bit of problem when we arrived at the bandit camp that we were supposed to exterminate." said the Jounin who immediately saw his comrades stiffen at hearing his report. "From the looks of it, the rest of you had the same problem as well." This got a nod from the two other Jounins.

The Hokage frowned at this. What problem could crop up from a simple extermination mission?

"What seems to be the problem?" the Sandaime asked the trio.

"When we reached the bandit camp, my Genin cell and I were prepared to take them out. However, when he scouted the camp, we found all the bandits unconscious and all their possessions stolen. I was able to wake one of them up but he couldn't tell me anything aside from the fact that someone knocked him unconscious without knowing who it was. From the other bandits, all they felt was a gust of wind and a sharp pain from the back of their necks before darkness claimed them." Reported the first Jounin.

"I also have the same problem, Hokage-sama." Said the second Jounin.

"Same here." The last quipped with amusement earning him a glare from the two.

"Hmmm." Was the reply of the Sandaime as he rubbed his goatee. "So let me get this straight, three bandit camps that you three were supposed to exterminate were all down for the count when you got there with all their loot gone?" He got a nod from all three. "Any idea what happened?"

The second Jounin coughed before speaking, making everyone's attention shift to him causing him to blush slightly.

"After making sure that they were secured to avoid runaways, I decided to check for signs of attacks. I found out that all of the bandits were hit behind the neck by a blunt object though the marks were clearly that of a sword, knocking them out. In fact, all of them were hit in the same place."

"I found the same thing, Hokage-sama." The third Jounin added his two cents in the report. "From the looks of it, all three bandit camps were hit by the same person. I know a bit of kenjutsu and I could safely say that whoever this person is, he or she knew what they were doing. They were hit strong enough to knock them out but not enough to kill them."

The Hokage nodded while processing the information he received.

"So we have a kenjutsu user somewhere around Konoha hitting bandit camps. From what you three said, it seemed that the aim of this…person…was to steal from them. How ironic…bandits getting robbed." said the Hokage in amusement.

"Are we going to do something about this, Hokage-sama?" asked the second Jounin, itching to find out who robbed them of a mission.

"Not at the moment. From your report, it seemed that this…person...only robbed bandits and no one else. Such is the case; it would be stupid of us to do something about it since that person is technically not causing any problems. In fact, that person is doing us a favor. However, if we receive similar reports of merchants being attacked then we are going to take action." declared the Hokage since a bandit robbing bandits wasn't really their concern. It was simple power play after all so it was nothing to worry about.

"Umm…does this mean that we won't get paid?" said the third Jounin causing the other two to look at him. "What? We did go to this mission after all and we rounded up the bandits even though we didn't do a thing aside from picking them up. Besides, I'm almost out of money and I need to pay this month's rent." He said defensively. This caused everyone to sweat drop at the admission.

"Fine." Said the Hokage, handing all three of them their respective envelopes containing the pay for the mission. They _technically_ finished the mission after all even if all they did was to round them up. "Here is your payment for the mission. You're free to get another mission since all of you technically finished yours but if you're not then you have the rest of the day off. Dismissed."

The three Jounin's and their respective Genin teams left the office leaving a perplexed Hokage to ponder the event.

 **Flashback end**

Naruto's self-imposed mission of earning money went without a hitch.

In the first night, he was lucky to hit three bandit camps and looted every valuable item he could find after knocking the occupants unconscious with a well-placed hit on the back of their necks. The items he liberated varied from bolts of cloth, jewelries, food stock, to money chests.

Fortunately for him, he had the foresight to 'acquire' a storage scroll from one of the shinobi stores in the village to help carry the items he liberated from the camps. If Naruto was honest with himself, the loot wasn't plenty but he would make do. Beggars can't be choosers after all.

He was thankful that Kurama taught him the _chakra Pulse_ to scout the forested areas along the highway of Fire Country until he found the bandit camps that he planned to raid.

Considering that he didn't get enough money from the bandits, he decided to spend the rest of the week looking for others until he had enough money for his 'home' in the Forest of Death. The pickings were small but with all the bandit camps he raided, he had almost a million ryo to tide him over, as well as some jewels and items he might find useful in the future.

Using the _Henge_ he learned from one of the scrolls he pilfered from the Konoha Academy, he disguised himself as a middle-aged man and purchased the necessary supplies for his construction project. He didn't do it all in one day since it would look conspicuous so he spread the purchases out, like nails and hammer for the first day, tiles for the roof on the next, and so on. Every items he purchased he deposited in one corner of 'his' clearing in the Forest of Death before delving into the chore of harvesting much-needed lumber from a sturdy tree he picked out a few hundred meters away from his clearing. He considered it physical training to cut through the tree using Benehime's bladed edge earning him a few grumbling comments from the spirit.

Kurama found the spirit's mortification of being used as a construction tool amusing.

It was two weeks later that Naruto finally finished his new home in the S-Class sector of Training Ground 44. All-in-all, he liked what he results.

Considering that he wasn't that picky with the design, he modeled it after Benehime's hut in his mindscape. It had two rooms and a kitchen, as well as living room. He had to take a trip to the Konoha Library for some books on construction and architecture to add mechanism of sorts that would allow water from the waterfall to enter a series of pipes to an indoor well by the kitchen. It had a system of pipes that would make sure that it won't overflow, letting the excess water flow out from another pipe to the river. Waste not, want not after all.

He used the leftover lumber to erect a fence around the clearing, high enough to discourage any of the denizens to stray into his beloved home. He wasn't worried about that since the time he spent in the clearing, none of the predators came. He was a bit puzzled about that but didn't investigate since it was of no use to find out the cause anyway.

To give himself some time-off from all the work, he decided to visit his precious people in the village.

First, he made his way to the Ichiraku's and enjoyed bowls after bowls of their delicious ramen. Even when he was training, he made a point to visit the quaint ramen stand and the company of Teuchi and Ayame who both he considered as family, aside from their delicious ramen of course.

It was two hours after lunch that he made his way to the Hokage Tower to visit his surrogate grandfather. It had been quite a while since he saw the Hokage and he missed the old man's company.

He entered the building after giving the Chuunins on guard a smile which they returned. Most of the shinobis in the village didn't hate him for what he carried in his gut. In fact, quite a few of them were sympathetic to his cause by chasing away the mobs that were after him, helping him buy food from the stores that refused him services, and so on.

He even made a few friends from the ANBU that guarded him while he was young, notably Dog, Cat, Bear, Snake, crow and Weasel.

Naruto entered the building and made his way to the top floor, totally ignoring the secretary who was glaring at him. Again, it seemed that the civilians were the only people in the village who hated him. He just shrugged it off since he didn't really care about them anymore. He knocked on the door to the Hokage's office and getting a grunt from the other side.

Amused, Naruto entered the office and closed the door behind him. He saw his surrogate grandfather busying himself with the piles of paperwork on his desk.

"Good afternoon, old man." greeted Naruto as he made his way to one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk.

The Hokage grunted before putting down the document he was reading to look at his surrogate grandson.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-kun. What brings you here? It's been quite a while since you visited and I was quite worried." said the Hokage while giving the whiskered blonde a smile.

"Just visiting, jiji. It's been a while since I've visited. I've been quite busy as of late." replied Naruto, returning the old man's smile. He looked at the piles of paperwork on the desk curiously. "I think you're paperwork grew, jiji."

"Tell me about it." said the Hokage while eyeing the innocent paper on his desk with disgust. "I don't know why I took this job when the Yondaime passed away. I forgot how annoying the paperwork was."

Naruto laughed at his surrogate grandfather's plight.

"What got you so annoyed anyway?" asked Naruto as he picked up one of the papers on the desk. He read it and discovered that it was an accounting report for the running of the village. He took another document and got the same thing. He turned to the Hokage who was giving him an amused look. "Budget huh?"

"Yes. It's the month for it. I swear the civilian council had it in for me. They were supposed to work on this since I am only supposed to work on the shinobi matters. If I didn't know any better, they're getting lazy."

"You could always give it back to them, I suppose. You're the Hokage for crying out loud. Konoha is a shinobi village so you should be the one in control. I say you get the council together, tell them the new rules or remind them of their responsibilities then leave them to stew about it." Said Naruto sagely, nodding at the idea since it was good. The aged leader looked at his grandson strangely before a happy grin stole its way into his wrinkled face.

"You know, Naruto-kun. That is a pretty good idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that." The Hokage mused in thought while tapping his chin.

"I think it's because that you tend to think that you're responsible for everything in this village, jiji. I mean, sure, you're the leader but isn't that the reason why you have people working under you?" Naruto pointed out while raising one of his eyebrows.

"You're right." agreed the Hokage before giving the blonde a speculative look. "That was a smart way of putting things into perspective, Naruto-kun."

"I do read, jijij, and I have a lot of spare time on my hands before I attend the Academy in two years so I spend most of it reading anything I could get my hands on. Considering that the shinobi section of the library is out of my reach until I become a Genin, I spend most of my time reading history and politics in my spare time." Naruto deadpanned making the Hokage give him a sheepish grin.

"You're right. You are a smart kid after all." said the Hokage before giving Naruto a speculative look. "Naruto-kun, why don't you accompany me to Suna next week?"

This caught Naruto off-guard. The Hokage never asked him to accompany him anywhere outside the village before and he was surprised at being asked to join an expedition to another village.

"Really, jiji?" He got a nod in reply. "Sure! I would love to go with you, old man. What are we going to do in Suna anyway?" Naruto asked curiously.

The Hokage didn't say anything but simply handed Naruto a piece of paper from his desk. Naruto didn't know it but the Hokage was testing him. Sarutobi was shrewd and he knew intelligence when he saw it and the boy in front of him had that intelligent look in his blue eyes that spoke of a prodigious mind.

Curiously, Naruto took it and read its content before whistling at the information it contained.

"To talk about the treaty huh?" The blonde jinchuuriki said with a raised eyebrow. "From the looks of it, the Kazekage wanted to modify the treaty to stop the missions coming from the Wind Daimyo given to Konoha. Now that's weird, why in the world would their Daimyo not give them missions but instead give it to Konoha. That doesn't make sense. I mean, Konoha gets a steady supply of missions from the Fire Daimyo so why is the Wind Daimyo giving expensive missions to us?" exclaimed Naruto as he handed the document back to the Hokage who took it with a nod.

"How much do you know about the history of Sunagakure, Naruto-kun." asked the Hokage, further testing the blonde in front of him. He wanted to know the extent of the blonde's intelligence. Considering who the boy's parents was, it was only normal for the boy to be of same caliber as well, or maybe even better.

Naruto pondered the question a bit, recalling the history books he read from the library.

"Let me see, nothing major aside from the accomplishments of their Kage, as well as some of the notable missing-nins that they had, like _Sasori of the Red Sands_ for example. Other than that, the only notable history concerning Suna was how they lost during the Third Great Shinobi War before finally going into a treaty with Konoha in order to preserve whatever dignity they had, as well as making sure that they had allies to call in once the other Hidden Villages decided to wage war on them."

The Hokage nodded, pride clearly shining in his eyes.

"You're correct, Naruto-kun. Ever since they lost and aligned themselves with the losing side during the Third Great Shinobi War, the Wind Daimyo lost his trust with them. This resulted in the Wind Daimyo giving a bulk of their high-ranked missions to Konoha and leaving the lower-paid ones to Suna. What do you think that Kazekage would want in this meeting?" he asked the blonde, an eyebrow raised as if challenging the boy in front of him to voice out his mind.

Naruto saw the challenge and accepted it. He mulled over his answers before voicing it out.

"I think that the Kazekage would go into a debate with you concerning this matter. If Konoha informs that Wind Daimyo to give back the missions to Suna then it would only be probable for him to do so considering our reputation as the strongest in the Elemental Nations being the victor of the Third Great Shinobi War. However, I think the Kazekage would have to convince you first to do that considering that high-paid mission is a great boon to our economy. If that is the case then I think the ruler of Suna would put some bargaining chips on the table…something that would entice you to sway the Wind Daimyo to give the missions back to them. What do you think, jiji?"

The Hokage clapped his hands in approval and gave Naruto look filled with pride which made the boy beam in happiness.

"You're correct in that regard, Naruto-kun. But what do you think this bargaining chip would be?" asked the Hokage, enjoying the intelligent conversation he was having with his surrogate grandson. If he knew that Naruto was this smart years ago then he would have spent more time with him in this very office to help come up with good ideas or tackle some problems with his paperwork. After all, a healthy view of current events would always outweigh the old ones in his head. Tradition had that problem sometimes.

"Hmm…I'm not really sure, jiji. But are we really going to bargain with them on this? I mean, we also need the money from the missions, right?" Naruto asked before seeing the Hokage rummage through the piles of paperwork on his desk. The old man seemed to have found what he was looking for before handing it over to him. Naruto looked through it and whistled.

"I see, from the looks of the budget report, the money coming in from the missions is huge and even if we do lose money by giving it back to Suna, we are still on the positive." This got a nod from the Hokage making Naruto think on the potential 'bargaining chip' that the Kazekage would be offering to Konoha to sway the Daimyo to their favor. "Considering that this is a shinobi village we are talking about, I don't think we are getting imports of supplies from them, right?"

The Hokage shook his head. "To be honest, Naruto-kun. We aren't really getting anything from Suna economically. Due to Konoha's location, everything we need is grown in Fire Country except for a few supplies coming from the minor villages within our borders. In fact, the only notable imports we have are healing herbs from Takigakure. That said, Konoha is self-sufficient unless there is need to import rare supplies from the outside." explained the Hokage, making Naruto nod.

"If that is the case then the Kazekage would offer shinobi techniques in payment for swaying the Daimyo's mind to their liking. What is Suna's specialty?" Naruto asked curiously. He was really enjoying learning a thing or two about politics from the old man. Learning it from the books during his night-time sojourn into the library was one thing, learning from the expert was simply better.

"Let me see, Suna is well-known for their _Fuuton jutsus (Wind Techniques)_ , poisons and antidotes, as well as their _Kugutsu no Jutsu (Puppet Technique)."_ Informed the Hokage after some thought.

"If that is the case, I would say _Fuuton jutsus_ then, or even some knowledge on their poisons and antidotes. I doubt they would be willing to part with the secret of their puppet techniques since it is unique to them." Naruto mused before setting down the documents he was holding on the desk. "Do we have any _Fuuton_ users in Konoha?"

"A few but these shinobis only had minor affinities with it. The only person who had a strong affinity to _Fuuton_ is my son, Asuma, who is currently part of the Fire Guardians."

Naruto whistled. Fire Guardians were the Daimyo's personal guards and considered to be powerful shinobis in their own specific field. If the old man's son was a part of it then he was definitely strong.

"Nice." Naruto said with a nod. "So when are we going to Suna?"

"I need to meet with my advisers, as well as the council to discuss this matter though I would tell them what you told me to get the ball running. If things go as planned, we would be leaving in four days, more or less." The Hokage informed him. Naruto nodded with a grin. His excitement was leaking out of him in waves.

"Well, if that's the case then I better get ready." said Naruto before standing up from his seat, grin still plastered on his face. "Just send one of your ANBU guards to find me if it's time for us to go."

The Hokage nodded before giving his surrogate grandson a smile.

"I will, Naruto-kun. Enjoy your day."

The blonde jinchuuriki left with a grin and a spring on his step. He couldn't wait to get out of Konoha and check out other places that he hadn't been to, even if his destination was Suna and nowhere else. Unlike his one-week trip outside Konoha walls to raid the bandit camps, this trip was purely for sightseeing purposes and he couldn't wait to get out of the village and immerse himself in the experience.

It took four days for the Sandaime to finalize everything with the council before they started their trip to Suna. Naruto, being the excitable boy that he was despite his now cold persona; packed everything into a storage scroll he purchased using his alter-ego. While he was packing the stuff, his attention inadvertently settled on the seal on the scroll and his interest was piqued. Sealing was something that both Benehime and Kurama encouraged him to learn, and he found new and interresting wayw to use them, especially in combat.

Naruto also discovered that sealing was a very complicated and delicate art and very dangerous if not properly applied. After a day of study, he was able to properly recreate one of the storage seals that the Yondaime created that would allow him to directly create a storage seal on his skin through a tattoo. In truth, he was lucky to find the book in one of the dust-covered cabinets in the shinobi section devoted to this subject. From the amount of dust, not many shinobis were interested in the sealing arts so he took the book with him to add to his collection. He was quite sure that no one would miss it.

After practicing with the seal tattoo on paper until he perfected it, Naruto immediately applied it on the back of his left hand where he immediately stored Benehime inside. Despite how much he loved the Hokage, it wouldn't do for unwanted questions to be asked that he wasn't ready to answer. Besides, it was a great surprise tactic just in case they were attacked though he doubted it since the Hokage was more than enough to handle any threats, not to mention the bodyguards tagging along for the trip.

Naruto didn't know it but the event that would take place would cement his role in the Elemental Nation, a role that would strike fear in the hearts of many and a legend that would surpass even that of his parents.

 **Scene change**

Naruto reached the Northern Gate of Konoha, wearing his usual attire, a dark coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half with a red uzu symbol in the middle, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. Naruto carries a fan, which he occasionally uses to hide his face. He usually wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals (geta) and a striped dark green and white bucket hat (which usually shadows his eyes), only to see the Hokage and his two bodyguards standing in wait. Both bodyguards were familiar to him, one of them was Uchiha Itachi the other was Uchiha Shisui, Itachi had onyx eyes under which were long, pronounced tear-troughs. He had jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and his face was framed with centre-parted bangs that extended to his chin; the ponytail and bangs grew longer over the years. His overall appearance is very similar to his brother Sasuke's. When he was of duty, his casual clothes consisted of a black shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, bandages around his ankles, and black sandals. He wore tan pants with a weapons pouch strapped to his back. When on duty, he would wear the standard Anbu uniform complete with arm guards, a flak jacket, and a porcelain mask which was fashioned to resemble a weasel with a red, triangular marking on top. As for Shisui also had short, unkempt, dark-coloured hair and a relatively broad nose and well-defined eyelashes, that were turns upwards at each end. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan which includes a high-collared, dark-coloured outfit along with a tantō strapped to the right side of the back of his shoulder. He also wore what appeared to be a harness for his tantō which ran across his chest and fastened over both his shoulders. During his time in the regular forces, Shisui donned the standard Konoha-nin uniform. His curiosity, however, was piqued when he saw a merchant's caravan alongside the group.

"Good morning, old man. Hi guys!" greeted Naruto with a smile as he approached the Hokage and his group.

"Hello Naruto kun." answered Itachi stoically

"Hey chibi!" said Shisui enjoying the pout on Naruto's face.

"Good morning to you too, Naruto. From the looks of it, you're ready for the trip. The orange scarf is a nice touch considering that we would be traveling through a desert when we reach the Suna border." commented the Hokage as he appraised Naruto's outfit, especially the orange scarf wrapped around the blonde's neck. He had gotten used to the blonde's somewhat traditional outfit of kimono, hakama, and geta sandals. It was unique considering that such an outfit was mostly used by the Daimyo's court in the capital of Fire Country.

Naruto gave his surrogate grandfather a grin and pulled up the scarf to cover his mouth and nose to demonstrate its use.

"One of reasons I wear this, jiji. I know that Suna is well-known for its wind and sand storms so it's best to be prepared." explained Naruto before pulling down the scarf again since such facial protection wasn't needed as of yet.

"Where is your pack, Naruto-kun? Don't tell me you plan to wear only what you're wearing now from here to Suna and back. We will be gone for a month, after all." said the Hokage, noting the absence of any gears on the blonde's person.

"No problem, jiji. I got it covered." said Naruto before pulling out a green scroll from a hidden pocket in his right sleeve. "As you can see, I have everything I need here in this scroll. Storage scrolls are just so cool."

The Hokage chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair in amusement.

"Indeed it is, Naruto-kun." the aged leader agreed. "Now before we leave, we will be joining this merchant caravan to Suna since they are going the same way. They requested a team to protect them from bandits and since we are going the same way, we will be providing that protection."

"

The head of the merchant family approached the Hokage.

"And I thank you for such an offer, Hokage-sama." said the man with a respectful bow before turning to Naruto and gave the boy a smile which the blonde returned. "My name is Haruhi Kijo. My family and I are going on a business trip to Suna to peddle our goods, as well as making sure that some of our deals there are still in working order. It is a surprise on my part that the Hokage himself took our request for bodyguards for the trip."

Naruto chuckled and gave the aged leader a grin.

"I think it is more for his convenience that nothing else, Haruhi-san. I think the old man was getting tired of sitting in his office for too long so he needed the exercise. Besides, old people need to stretch their old bones once in a while to keep in shape." explained Naruto with a mischievous grin. This comment, however, earned him a bonk on the head from a twitching Hokage. "Ouch! What did you do that for, old man?"

"I may be old, Naruto-kun, but I still have some strength in these old bones to put young ones like you in place." said the Hokage in annoyance. Sure, he was old but he wasn't that old. He still had a few more years in his body before retiring.

"Fine fine. You don't have to damage my brain cells for it, you perverted old geezer." grumbled Naruto before dodging another fist to the head. He stuck his tongue out to the Hokage who was twitching in annoyance. The merchant caravan and the Hokage's bodyguards were snickering in amusement.

It didn't take long for the Hokage to sort out the travel papers with the Chuunins assigned on the gate. When all the signatures were in place, the caravan to Suna departed Konoha with much cheer and excitement, especially for a certain blonde jinchuuriki.

On the third day of their travel to Suna, Naruto could help but enjoy the trip. True, it was a bit boring to see nothing but trees as they traversed the road to Wind Country, but the company he was in made the journey enjoyable.

Naruto got to know Haruhi's family better, especially little Misao, their adorable 3-year old daughter. Considering that the blonde lacked social interaction with people his age or younger, having the girl take up his time was a welcome experience. They would spend the rest of the journey either talking or storytelling. It was a good thing that Naruto was well-read since the girl was always demanding new stories for him to tell. Naruto wasn't bothered by the demands; in fact, he dived into her requests with gusto. It was like having a sister, and by extension, a family he never had.

Naruto also found the Haruhi elders to be like a family who treated him as such. Haruhi Suki was very motherly to the two kids, especially to Naruto who he treated like a son and didn't spare any expense in mothering him with food and care. Haruhi Kijo, on the other hand, was like a father figure, talking about stuff that Naruto should have learned from a grown-up.

All-in-all, Naruto was happy and vowed to always spend time with the family once they return to Konoha. If Naruto was honest with himself, he treated the Haruhi family an extension of his own and became his precious people.

It was on the fourth day of their trip that disaster struck. The cart that Naruto and the Haruhi family was riding on exploded without any warning, throwing off its passengers to the ground and showering them with debris.

The Hokage immediately went into alert and ordered one of his body guards to check for survivors. However, they were cut off when twelve shinobis wearing Iwa headbands surrounded them, stopping them from leaving the area.

"Well, well, well….it seems that we finally caught you, Hokage-san." said one of the shinobis who was giving the group an evil grin.

"Who are you and what have you done?" the Hokage demanded, prepared to square off with the attackers. Inwardly, however, he was worried. Worried about his surrogate grandson who was riding the cart and wanted to know how he was faring. He was also worried about the attackers. It seemed that they were well-prepared considering their numbers. From the chakra signature, these were Jounin-level shinobis and it seemed that they have come prepared.

"The answer to your question is simple, old man. We are the Rock Biter Brigade and it seemed that our information was correct. It was stupid of you to leave the safety of your village without bringing along enough manpower to protect you in case of an attack. In fact, it was… _fearless_ …of you to do so." the Jounin answered in a mocking tone.

The Hokage tensed, as well as his bodyguards when they heard the group introduced themselves. The Rock Biter Brigade was part of Iwa's elite. Their expertise as assassins was impeccable, and their teamwork was well-known throughout the Elemental Nation. Also, this group was a master of _Doton_ (Earth) techniques. He could easily dispatch them but it would take time, time he didn't have if he wanted to check on Naruto.

The battle started in earnest, a group attacking the Hokage while the rest were taking care of the bodyguards. The trio didn't have time to check the ruined cart. They were in a fierce battle for their lives.

 **Scene change**

Naruto, on the other hand, was unaware of the battle taking place. He groaned when a sudden pain made its way to his left arm as he shifted. He opened his eyes and saw the devastation in front of him. The cart was blown to bits and the area they were in was littered with debris. His memory kicked in and his eyes opened wide as he started looking around for any signs of the Haruhi family.

" _Kurama, can you heal my arm please. I have to find the Haruhi's."_ asked Naruto as he gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain as he pushed himself off the ground.

" **I'm working on it, Naruto. Give me a few more minutes and it would be good as new."** answered Kurama.

Naruto felt his tenant's chakra already making its way into his arm and healing the damage. Oblivious to the battle taking place a few meters away from him, he made his way around the explosion site looking for survivors. His heart clenched when he saw the still forms of the Haruhis a few feet away from the small crater where the explosion took place. He immediately ran to the trio on the ground and couldn't help but gasp at what he saw.

Haruhi Kijo was sprawled on the ground with his neck broken, clearly dead. Suki was currently hugging Misao. Both were covered in burn marks and wounds from the sharpened wooden debris from the cart. His hearts clenched when he saw a piece of wood impaling Suki and Misao through their chest. It was clear that Suki was protecting her daughter but the force of the explosion made sure that the piece of wood pierced both of them, taking their life.

Both were dead.

The Haruhis were dead.

Naruto's heart clenched.

His blue eyes that showed warmth for the first time in years became colder.

He knelt on the ground and reached out with shaky hands and closed the eyes of the dead family in front of him. Tears made its ways down his cheeks, cold blue eyes, eyes that reflected the death of loved ones shed tears for the last time.

A cold detachment gripped Naruto's heart as he stood up and turned his head to see the intense battle happening in front of him.

They would pay.

They would pay dearly.

They would die.

He would make sure of it.

"Kurama," said Naruto whispered out loud in a detached voice, devoid of any emotion. "How's my arm?"

Kurama shivered at the mental voice of its container. It did not hold any emotion and brought chill down his spine.

" **All healed, Naruto. I also made sure that the superficial damage was healed as well."** Kurama answered, the bijuu's mental voice subdued, already knowing what Naruto was about to do.

"Thank you." whispered Naruto as he slowly made his way to the battle, his pace slow and measured. It wasn't the pace of a boy or any man. It was the pace of a killer stalking his prey. Blood will be flowing today and it wasn't his.

 **Scene change**

Sarutobi was having a hard time getting rid of his attackers. If they were ordinary shinobis then he could have taken care of them easily. However, these were no pushovers. It seemed that these shinobis came prepared, countering all of his techniques with ease as if they prepared for this in advance. It seemed that Iwa was hell-bent in destroying him and deal a decisive blow to the leave.

He dodged a rock dragon that erupted from the ground in front of him but was unprepared when a second dragon came at him from behind it. He braced himself for impact since it was too close to dodge or counter. However, he was shocked when he heard a familiar voice speak from behind him, a voice that he was familiar with but devoid of any warmth.

It was like ice. No, it was colder than ice.

" **Byakurai."**

The Hokage was unprepared when a blast of white energy, like lightning, hit the rock dragon in the face causing it to explode. Shocked at this turn of events, he turned and saw something that made his heart grip in worry and fear. Naruto was slowly walking towards him with a smoking index finger pointing at where the dragon was. He didn't doubt it but whatever that attack was, it came from the boy that he considered a grandson.

Whatever that attack was, it saved his life.

 **Scene change**

Naruto walked towards the battle as he watched the fighting without emotions. However, he had a brief flash of anger when he saw his surrogate grandfather getting attacked by a jutsu that produced a large dragon made of rocks which was dodged with ease but the second one that followed would surely hit.

" _No, I will never lose a precious person ever again."_

He slowly raised his right hand with index fingers pointed at the dragon.

" **Byakurai (white lightning)."** was all he said before white lightning burst out of his stretched finger and hit the rock dragon, blowing it to pieces.

He continued walking closer to the battle as he observed every single participant. Every single move didn't escape his notice. He saw one of the Iwa shinobis charge forward to blindside his surrogate grandfather. He corrected his aim and spoke his next attack.

" **futon kuuki Yubi (wind release Air Finger)."**

The attacker was hit in the head causing it to explode. Naruto focused wind chakra into his finger and fired it like a bullet towards the enemy. This is a very useful technique as Naruto can change the size and speed of the attack to whatever he desires.This time he made sure that the impact was powerful, powerful enough to blow one's head off.

"Naruto…" said the Hokage but he was cut off when the blonde looked at him. Cold blue eyes met wary brown.

"Jiji. Please stand back." whispered Naruto as he raised his left hand.

The Hokage was about to argue but shut up when a cane materialized in Naruto's left hand. He was further shocked when the boy drew a beige-colored shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) with a curved handle and silver base. As the blade resides in a cane, the cane's handle is still the hilt and the shaft is the sheath.

He finally discovered the identity of the person who was taking down the bandits. He was about to say something when Naruto disappeared and turned when a shout came from behind him. What he saw made his blood run cold.

Naruto was in front of an Iwa shinobi with both arms cut off from the shoulder. A cane wasn't capable of such a feat but he got his answer when he saw the bloody blade in the boy's hand. Instead of the wood casing of the cane, the bladed edge was now exposed. Not only that, Naruto moved faster than even his trained eye could follow. Also, the damage he dealt was powerful, powerful for an eight year old to produce. It wasn't possible but he couldn't deny the fact that everything that happened in front of him was real.

Sarutobi was shocked yet again when Naruto disappeared without a sound followed by a scream of pain. He followed it immediately to see an Iwa shinobi sprawled on the ground with his both legs cut off, He was astounded at the bloodshed that was happening in front him. Blood was flying through the air with each swing and it wasn't letting up.

The boy disappeared, an Iwa shinobi lost his head.

The boy disappeared again, an Iwa shinobi lost both arms before he was literally cut in two from the waist.

The boy disappeared again for an Iwa shinobi to have a hole blasted through his chest where his heart was by the same technique that the boy used earlier.

Sarutobi was mesmerized and afraid at the same time. His surrogate grandson was killing Iwa shinobis with such power and precision that it was like a dance, a dance of death. Where did Naruto learn such skills? Where did Naruto earn such mastery over the sword?

"Hokage-sama." said Itachi who appeared beside him, kunai at the ready in case of an attack. Shisui was a bit roughed up but he was fine overall. "What is happening?"

"I don't know what is happening but it seems that Naruto-kun is killing our enemies. What's worst, he is killing them as if he killed before." whispered Sarutobi as he watched the slaughter in front of him. He couldn't take his eyes away from it no matter how much he wanted to. His breath hitched, however, when the rest of the Iwa shinobis surrounded his grandson from all sides, readying to attack him all at once. He was about to help but he was rooted to the spot when Naruto's mouth opened to ask a single question.

"Did you do it?" whispered Naruto as he looked at the ground, his hair covering his eyes, his bloodied blade at his side, dripping lifeblood on the ground.

"Did what, brat?" snarled one of the Jounin who threw a kunai at Naruto.

Naruto raised his left hand, caught he kunai from the ring and tossed it back to the thrower, impaling him on the head, dead. "Did you cause the cart to explode and killing the Haruhis?"

One of the members of the group sneered at the boy in front of him before answering.

"So what if we did? Besides, it was supposed to be for the Hokage. All our preparation was wasted on some useless civilians. They got what they deserved."

"I see. Did you know that they were a family and that you killed a loving father and mother along with their 3-year old daughter?" whispered Naruto as he gripped Benehime tighter.

"So? It's not like they were shinobis or anything. They were just useless civilians. People die kid, live with it." sneered the shinobis who pulled a Tanto from his back.

"I understand. You're right. I'll live with it…forever. However…" said Naruto before he disappeared and reappeared in the air on top of the shinobi who answered him. "You'll never live with it since you're going to die right now. **Fuinjutsu Zan (** **斬** **Zan)**." He whispered but everyone could clearly hear him.

The Iwa shinobis wasn't prepared for what happened to their teammate. Naruto swung his sword and wrote "斬" (Zan), creating a giant air blade. The shinobi who answered Naruto's question was literally cut evenly in half as air blade sliced him from the head to his groin. Naruto disappeared again and started the massacre that would put others to shame.

After he was done with the small fry he turned and looked at the one who did not move since the beginning. He was a man with tan skin, a powerful build, and a ridge-lined cranium. He has brown eyes, black hair, long, bushy sideburns, and a thin ponytail reaching his upper-back. Aside from this, he is bald. He has orange eyebrows, and red markings under his eyes. He wears the standard Iwa jounin uniform. He had an air of confidence about him as he looked at the child in front of him, and why wouldn't he? He was ikari Yammy, the **koton no Yammy (Yammy of the steel release)** and he was one of Iwa's best jounin. He looked at the child in front of him and said

"kid you have some talent but don't think that because you killed some no name jounin trash that you can beat me." he said arrogantly.

"you are right, I don't think I can beat you, I know I can beat you. As my teacher always said to me 'Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate.'" answered Naruto quoting his teacher Benehime.

"your teacher sounds wise, but don't say I did not warn your ass. **Balla (hollow bullet)"** said the behemoth before singing his arm and a bullet of fire raced towards Naruto who did not expected and he was hit straight in his chest sending him flying towards a tree, but the assault did not end like that, as more bullets came flying towards the blonde.

"Naruto/ Naruto kun/ chibi!" screamed Hiruzen, Itachi and Shisui respectively.

"haha! How do you like that, my **Balla (hollow bullet)** by Chaneling Katon chakra in my arms and releasing it at the moment of the swing I can send a bullet towards my opponents. Packs quite a punch doesn't it?" sneered the giant.

"why yes It does, Unfortunately for you that was not me who took the attack head one but a Kage bunshin." came the answer from behind him and as Yammy turned around he saw the blonde standing behind him with a bored look on his eyes. Naruto then looked at his sword and said

"I will have to take this seriously, **okiro (Awaken) Benehime"** and his sword was no longer a shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) now it took the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword. The hilt's grip, which has a gentle black-decorative wrapping, bends forward at the end, with a pommel shaped overlap three times, and a crimson tassel dangling from its base. Instead of a tsuba, there is a U-shape guard covering three inches of blade, with a flower petal design. At the base of the guard is a red string wrapped thrice around the hilt, with a three-loop bow on the back side and a folded paper decoration on the front side. The blades hamon is straight, colored black with a silver edge. It remains straight and slim with a somewhat short size, with the tip ending in a slanted razor-like edge instead of tapering to a point. After looking at his blade for an instant he smiled and said

"Now let's fight seriously shall we, **Nake, Benihime (Sing, Crimson Princess)** " and he swings his sword, This technique fires particularly strong and destructive crimson-colored energy blasts. The energy flows out of the blade and fires in the arc of the sword's swing. It was only Yammy's instincts that allowed him to survive the attack, he did one hand seal and his skin turned black. The attack hit him dead on and he was pushed a few feet back he than looked at his opponent and grined

"haha, good try brat but I have my **koton mukankaku no yoroi (Steel Release: Impervious Armour)** to thank, This technique allows me to turn my body into black steel, making that part invulnerable. Thanks to this jutsu I am invulnerable to blades, now die you little brat **Balla (hollow bullet)!"** screamed Yammy as he brought his fire covered arm on Naruto to finish him off while thinking 'what the hell is this kid, even with my **koton mukankaku no yoroi (Steel Release: Impervious Armour),** he still cut my skin, I have to finish this now!'. But Naruto just raised his sword and made a circle of red chakra before he said " **Tsuppane, Benihime (Spurning, Crimson Princess)"** and he stopped the attack dead in the tracks, he looked at his opponents bewildered face before he said

"you must be wondering what just happened. I won't get hit by any more of those. I'm a sensor and I've analyzed that technique's chakra composition and even the patterns in your muscle movements when you fire. If I know those two things, I can dodge it or by timing it right, I can cancel it out just like I did just now. But that's difficult in its own right. But once you figure out how to do it, I can dodge your attacks in my sleep now."

"bu...bullshit, there is no way a brat like you can dodge my attacks, Die!" roared Yammy while shooting **Ballas (hollow bullets)** right and left but Naruto side Stepped them easily while advancing towards his victim. When he got close he swings his sword an arc of chakra appeared and pushed the giant away, he landes on his feet and glared at his opponent before saying

"so we are at an impasse, I cannot hit you and your hits can't hurt me so why don't we call it a day huh."

"an impasse, is that you see, the way I see it all I have to do is swing my sword and you will be dead, but don't take my word for it, see for yourself, **Fuinjutsu Zan (** **斬** **Zan)**." He whispered but everyone could clearly hear him. The Iwa shinobi crossed his arms in preparation to the attack. Naruto swung his sword and wrote "斬" (Zan), creating a giant air blade. The defence that Yammy mounted did not even slow the attack as the Wind blade cut straight through him. The man died before he even hit the floor.

It was five minutes later that Naruto was standing in front of the shinobi whose arms he cut off. The Iwa Jounin was looking at the bloodied boy in front of him in fear as he struggled to get away from the vengeful blonde by using his feet to push himself back.

"Get away from me. Don't kill me, please!" the Iwa shinobi begged, tears streaming down his face.

"Why? Why should I not kill you? Did you ask the Haruhis if they wanted to die? Did you ask Kijo and Suki if they wanted to die? DID YOU ASK MISAO IF SHE WANTED TO DIE?" Naruto shouted the last part and raised Kenshin on top of him as he looked at the downed Jounin with a crazed look in his eyes. "DIE!"

Before Naruto could complete his swing, a hand gripped him on the wrist, stopping the blade before it could cleave the Iwa shinobi in two. The blonde boy turned his head to stare at the brown eyes of the Hokage.

"Jiji?"

"That's enough, Naruto-kun. You've done enough for today." said Sarutobi in a firm voice but it was laced with compassion and understanding.

"But, jiji. They killed Misao. They don't even regret it." screamed Naruto as he struggled against the Hokage's grip, tears of rage and sadness dribbled down his cheeks.

"I know, Naruto-kun. But if you kill this man then we will never be able to find out why they attacked in the first place. We need to know what Iwa is planning in order to avoid the same situation that happened to the Haruhis." explained the Hokage.

It seemed that whatever he said got through to the distraught blonde since he could no longer feel the strength behind the hand he was holding. He let go and saw Naruto flick the blade to the side to get rid of the blood before putting it back in its sheath with a detached grace.

"I understand, jiji. If you need me, I'll be with the Haruhis." whispered Naruto before he turned and disappeared without a sound.

Sarutobi saw Naruto appear before the dead family and kneeled beside them. He turned to the Iwa shinobi who was clearly looking at his surrogate grandson in fear.

"Now, let's see if you can provide me with the information I seek." said the Hokage with an evil glint in his eyes causing the survivor of the Rock Biter Brigade to gulp.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The crimson prince.**_

 **Chapter 3**

It had been three days since the slaughter of Iwa's Rock Biter Brigade, well, except for one who Naruto spared due to the Hokage's intervention.

After the interrogation personally conducted by the Hokage, they found out that this was a non-designated mission, a personal vendetta by the leader of the Rock Biter Brigade to cash in on the huge bounty on the Hokage's head, as well as the potential backlash his death would have on the Leaf.

Since they were exhausted from the battle, they decided to move into the forest and recuperate after sending the armless Iwa shinobi back to his village with a message to the Tsuchikage regarding their actions and a request for compensation to an unprovoked attack on his person despite the ceasefire agreement they had after the Third Great Shinobi War.

The last of the Rock Biter Brigade didn't say no to the delivery since the Hokage threatened him with Naruto's intervention if he disagreed. Sarutobi clearly remembered the panic evident in the eyes of the Iwa-nin upon the mention of the blonde jinchuuriki. It would seem that Naruto's power scared the Iwa-nin more than angering the Hokage and the Iwa-nin have given Naruto a nickname after the slaughter.

 **Konoha no guren no ouji (Konoha's crimson prince)**

Sarutobi didn't know if he was proud of Naruto for striking fear into the hearts of his enemies or worried that the boy was too young to merit such title. He predicted that the boy would be sporting his own entry in the Bingo Book in the future. Good thing the Iwa-nin didn't know Naruto's true name or the council in the village would be in for a shock.

Such was the case; Sarutobi sent one of his messenger monkeys to the Kazekage with apologies of their delay. He didn't mention why they were delayed though since it was possible that the power-hungry yondaime Kazekage would take advantage of their weakened state and bring them out.

The three days they spent in a hidden clearing deep in the forest was spent mostly to rest. However, Naruto was busy making a grave for the Haruhi family and refused any help from the trio.

In truth, Sarutobi was worried of his surrogate grandson. The skills he displayed were uncanny and he couldn't deny the fact that taking down the Rock Biter Brigade was no mean feat. The boy's skill with the sword, as well as those various techniques he used was mind-boggling. The boy was powerful, he couldn't deny that. The question was…where did he get such power? He knew that Kyuubi had nothing to do with it since he didn't feel a smidgen of the bijuu's chakra during the battle so everything that Naruto used was his own.

Aside from the various thoughts swirling in his head, Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle at the change in the two Jounins that acted as his bodyguard. They were giving the blonde jinchuuriki looks of concern and respect, hell even Shisui started addressing the boy as 'Naruto' on occasion when they talked with the boy, not the usual chibi or chibi chan. In most cases, Naruto just gave them a few words as answers since the boy was clearly not in the mood to socially interact with them.

In truth, the death of the Haruhis scarred the blonde to the point that the warmth in his blue eyes was non-existent. Sarutobi was saddened that his favorite blonde had his innocence ripped away from his at such a tender age.

It was morning on the third day that Sarutobi made his way out of the clearing they set up camp and approached the make-shift grave that Naruto made for the Haruhis. In front of him were three gravestones that Naruto created from a large boulder, each with their respective names. The aged leader saw his beloved grandson kneeling in front of the gravestone with Misao's name carved on its face. He made his way to the blonde and knelt beside him, silence echoed across the clearing before Naruto spoke.

"Will the pain ever go away, jiji?" whispered Naruto as he eyed Misao's grave.

Sarutobi knew what Naruto was talking about and decided to answer truthfully, hoping against hope that his grandson's humanity was still intact.

"No." said the Hokage as he eyed the gravestones in front of him. "Losing loved ones will always be painful, Naruto-kun. Even today, I still harbor the pain of losing my wife, Biwako, during the night the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. I feel the pain when I discovered that she died in the hospital because of chakra exhaustion as she emptied her life energy to heal the wounded. The pain of loneliness I feel every day, even now."

"How do you cope with it?" said Naruto as his eyes started to produce tears as he remembered Misao's smiling face. However, it stayed that way and no tears fell as if they were held in place by his promise to never cry again.

"By living." answered Sarutobi as he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "One thing you need to know, Naruto-kun, is that our loved ones would always want us to continue with life. The three days that you spent with them was enough to endear them to you. Live on, Naruto, live on for them. Let their memories be alive in your heart. Strive to live and not degenerate into an empty shell of a man."

Silence reigned as Naruto pondered his surrogate grandfather's words. He instinctively knew that everything the aged leader said was right. Life was fair; you love people and lose people you love. It was a cycle, a cycle of life and death. However, what made it bearable were the memories and experiences you have with the people you love. It cemented the decision he made while he digging the Haruhis' graves. No longer will he lose those precious to him. He would use his skills to make sure that the people he loved were safe and whole.

"Jiji, I want to protect the people I love. I want to become a shinobi." said Naruto with determination in his voice as he eyed the names on the stones in front of him.

Sarutobi inwardly sighed in relief, thankful that Naruto didn't degenerate into a path of hate that these situations always resulted in. He wasn't happy that his surrogate grandson would be entering the life of a shinobi at such a young age. Sure, he would become one in the future which would take place few years from now, enough time to learn the lessons that came with the career.

However, with Naruto's skill and determination, saying no would be detrimental to the boy's heart. To deny the boy would only push him to the path of darkness and he didn't want that to happen. It was better for the boy's skill to be put to use to protect instead of random killing. With the skills he displayed a few days back, slaughter would be the perfect word to use.

"I agree." said Sarutobi with a nod causing the blonde to look at him in surprise, as if expecting him to disagree with his decision. "Don't take me wrong, Naruto-kun. You're too young to be a shinobi. However, with the skills you displayed during the battle, I don't think that it would be good for you for me to deny this request. We will talk more after this trip to Suna when we get back home. After all, you owe me some explanation with the skills you showed."

Naruto gave him a sheepish grin making Sarutobi inwardly crow in happiness that his surrogate grandson's sanity was still intact.

"Thanks, jiji. I think I owe you an explanation as well. If I were to become a shinobi then it would only stand to reason that you know what I'm capable of, neh?"

"Indeed." Sarutobi agreed and clapped Naruto on the back before standing up. "I suggest we take our leave. It is three days travel from here to Suna though we could get there sooner if we speed things up and I know that you can accommodate traveling at a faster pace with the speed you showed me earlier, correct?"

"Easily, jiji." said Naruto with a smile as he stood up as well. He looked at the three graves and gave the Haruhis a smile before taking his leave with the Hokage mimicking his action.

When they arrived at the clearing where they set up camp, Naruto noticed that everything was packed and any evidence of their presence was professionally erased.

"Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun. Welcome back." said Itachi in greeting when they entered the clearing.

Naruto sighed at the added suffix to his name. No matter how much he told the two Jounins to just call him Naruto, they wouldn't budge. One called him Naruto kun and the other bastard called him chibi or chibi chan.

"Itachi-niisan" said Naruto with a nod. "I guess we would be leaving now since jiji personally looked for me. Where is Shisui teme?"

Itachi gestured over his shoulder towards Shisui who was sitting under a tree, the bastard was always grining and that always managed to get under his nerves. He then stood up and said

"chibi chan are you sure you can travel at our usual speed, you know I am Konoha's fastes shinobi?" he said blasting about his skills.

Naruto didn't say anything but simply disappeared from the spot and appeared a few meters away from the group. He gave the Uchiha a cheeky grin.

"You were saying, jiji?" countered Naruto, grin still plastered on his face.

The Hokage had a resigned look on his face while Shisui was looking at Naruto with one of his veins bulged.

"Fine." Sarutobi said in resignation. "We will go to Suna at full speed. Naruto, I know you're faster with that speed technique of yours so I suggest that you adjust your distance to ours. Make sure that you keep us in sight at all times, clear?"

Naruto nodded and took a step forward before disappearing and appearing on a branch in one of the trees a few meters away causing the Hokage to huff in annoyance before channeling chakra to his muscles and ran at full speeds with Naruto catching up to him easily via tree route. Itachi was hard-pressed to follow the two powerhouses in front of him. As for Shisui, he was not about to let some brat beat him in a contest of speed, so using his signature technique, the **Shunshin,** he managed to keep up with the blonde.

The group was able to reach Suna in one and a half day traveling at full speed instead of the assumed three days of travel.

Sarutobi, Itachi and shisui were surprised at Naruto's speed as the boy kept up with their pace. In fact, they were flabbergasted when they reached the desert when Naruto kept to the high grounds, standing on air as if it was nothing.

Sarutobi vowed to interrogate the blonde when they got back to Konoha since the boy was displaying skills that bordered on impossible. Shisui just stared at Naruto with a look of defeat, as for Itachi he was, well Itachi. For Naruto he was openly laughing, the **Sukai (Skywalk)** was a very useful jutsu, it was just An advanced form of tree walking and water walking but this time where the user walks on wind, making it look like their flying. The user must focus chakra into their feet and have exceptional control over it. People with high chakra/high wind affinity have better luck using this technique. Sometimes to start it off the user needs to jump, releasing chakra out from the bottom of their feet to initiate it. It was very useful for three dimensional combat.

When they got to the gates of Suna, the Hokage immediately processed the necessary papers And he and the two Uchihas went to get themselves boomed in their hotel room.

While the adults were in the hotel, Naruto checked out the shops and purchased a hunter-nin mask from one of the shinobi stores in the village to keep up the façade of being a shinobi. The mask was quite scary since it depicted a Hanya, or a demon with large fangs and horns.

Despite his age, he was at a respectable height of 5'3 thanks to Kurama's modification of his physiology so he could easily pass off as a young shinobi if need be.

When Naruto showed up with his mask on partially covered by his orange scarf, Sarutobi couldn't help but be impressed at the boy's aura when the mask was in place. He couldn't deny the fact that the mask itself was scary considering that it was a demon's mask. All-in-all, Naruto was a sight to be feared which was further given evidence when Shisui almost pissed on his pants when they saw Naruto wearing his new purchase.

After they checked in into one of the hotels in Suna, the Hokage briefed Naruto on his 'job' and 'persona'. Sarutobi informed Naruto that he would be acting as his bodyguard for the duration of his stay so he would be present to all the meetings with the Kazekage.

Sarutobi warned Naruto to keep his eyes and ears open to make sure that no threats were present and to keep a close watch on the Kazekage just in case the man had something nefarious planned for them.

The meeting was boring for Naruto except for the times that the Suna shinobis, as well as the Kazekage, would eye him with a little bit of apprehension. Naruto couldn't help but grin behind his mask. He definitely liked his purchase. The blonde could practically see the Hokage's amusement to their reaction to his outfit judging from the twitching on the side of his lips when a random Suna shinobi would yelp in fear when he was present.

All-in-all, they stayed for a week in Suna and the conference with the Kazekage yielded positive results. Aside from the modification to the treaty, the Hokage promised the Kazekage that he would be having words with the Wind Daimyo regarding their concerns with the leader of Suna delivering the promised techniques to Konoha AFTER the missions were properly given to the village.

The Konoha group departed Suna for home in good spirits.

With Naruto being open with his abilities, especially his speed, they made it to Konoha in a span of three days. Of course, they had to set up camp every night and leave early in the morning after cleaning up. They didn't encounter any problems with the Chuunins guards and the Hokage dismissed the two Jounins and giving them a week off to relax.

The two didn't waste any time and adjourned to the Hokage's office to start their discussion. After Sarutobi activated the privacy barrier around his office, the questions started with Naruto answering every single one not leaving anything out. In most cases, the questions were on Naruto's abilities and how he got them, as well as the various trainings he went through, including his night-time forays into the Konoha Library.

Also, the Hokage interrogated Naruto concerning Kyuubi, or Kurama in this case, to determine whether the bijuu had no harmful intentions with his surrogate grandson. After hearing the history of the bijuu as explained by Kurama, Sarutobi was content to leave things alone…for now.

The entire conversation took four hours to draw to a close leaving the Hokage looked at him with a frown.

"That's all of it, jiji. I hope I answered all your questions since we've been at it for four hours now." complained Naruto with a slight whine to his voice causing the aged leader to chuckle.

"I think you answered all my questions satisfactorily, Naruto-kun. Now, before we discuss your actual position in the shinobi ranks, there are a few complications we need to discuss." said the Hokage with a serious look on his face.

"Complications? I mean, you're the Hokage right? So it's only right for you to grant any rank to a person as long as they are capable and I am very capable." Naruto pointed out with a raised eyebrow, as if daring the Hokage to challenge him, which the old man fortunately did not.

"fine, you have one month to prepare yourself, after that you will start your duties.".said Hiruzen.

"Alright, old man. I agree with your plan. But you better make my position worth my while." demanded the Hokage with a glint in his eyes. The Hokage chuckled and gave the boy a warm smile.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. Once you're done with your one year of training, you won't be disappointed with the position I have in mind for you."

 **Time skip 1 month:**

It was on the month of preparation that Kurama bestowed Naruto a gift. The bijuu granted Naruto a summoning contract for foxes to aid him in his shinobi career. Naruto immediately accepted and signed the contract after the bijuu told him the location of the elusive contract hidden in one of the caves deep inside the highest mountain peak in Fire Country. Of course, Naruto didn't have any problems getting there thanks to his speed.

Kurama explained that foxes weren't fighters but specialized more in tracking and infiltration. The only exception to this was Kurama himself due to his status as a tailed beast and the boss of the Fox Summons. After summoning Kurama out for the first time, Naruto discovered that the bijuu was still hindered by the Shinigami's seal. The fox could be summoned but the control of the bijuu's power was left in Naruto's control so the blonde could decide how much the bijuu would have once summoned into the physical world. Naruto also made some new seals, on his hat was a seal formula that created a genjutsu that made his hair look crimson. And on the mask he chose, white mask that covers his entire visage. The mask itself is simply design with a mischievous smirk running from its cheekbones down to, slightly above, the jawline and arching back up to his opposite cheekbone. Granting him visibility are two crescent-shaped spots flowing downwards, forming a wicked portrayal along with the mouth piece. On the mask were seals that altered his voice. The month was not spent relaxing since Naruto trained to the ground every day in all his knowledge, he even made some new combat fuinjutsu.

Naruto woke up from a very sound sleep. He stood up from his bed and walked to the bathroom for his morning ritual. It didn't take him long to finish since he was a bit excited to get out of his little hut in the Forest of Death and go to the Hokage's office to get his position in the shinobi ranks sorted out. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled at his chiseled body, Naruto had a swimmers body but he knew he had destructive power in spades in those child like muscles of his. You see kurama told Naruto to wear weights, to satisfy his request, he fashioned four bracers made from a chakra-conductive metal with gravity seals on them to mimic weights. All it needed was a direct application of chakra on the seal then voila…chakra weights. Of course, Naruto paid for the items since he still had plenty of money from his bandit-raiding days.

Currently, each bracer was 250 pounds, making him carry a whopping 1000 pounds on top of his body weight. He wasn't bothered by it since he already gotten used to it though he loved to take it off once in a while and relish at the pure physical speed he could dish out with his newly-improved muscles. If he was honest with himself, he could practically match Maito Gai in pure speed with the latter wearing his weights. He didn't think that he would win with an un-weighted Gai without resorting to _Shunpo_. The guy was just too darn fast to begin with.

He walked over to his closet and pulled out his usual outfit of a dark coat, which sports a white diamond pattern along its bottom half, with a dark green shirt and pants underneath. Naruto carries a fan, which he occasionally uses to hide his face. He usually wears traditional Japanese wooden sandals (geta) and a striped dark green and white bucket hat (which usually shadows his eyes), he left his bedroom and went to the kitchen for a bite of breakfast. Despite the ability to create solid clones to do it for him, cooking was one of the few hobbies that he liked to do on his own.

After a breakfast of rice and pickled vegetables, he packed the Onigiri he prepared for his surrogate grandfather and left the hut. He looked around a bit to enjoy the morning air and smiled as he noticed his vegetable patch yielding some wonderful growth. He started gardening after moving in to his new home and loved the large bounties it yielded thanks to the chakra-laced forest he lived in. Giving the clearing one last look, he disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves.

Naruto appeared just outside the door of the Hokage's office and knocked. He entered after getting a muffled 'Enter' from his surrogate grandfather.

"Good morning, old man. I brought you breakfast." greeted Naruto before lifting the bento box to show the Hokage his morning offering.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun. What is it today?" asked Sarutobi as he eyed the box hungrily causing Naruto to laugh. Ever since he started exploring the extent of his culinary talents, the aged Hokage was just too lazy to eat at home, expecting him to bring him his daily fair of morning goodness.

"Just a few Onigiris today since I ran out of spices for a home-cooked meal. I know you don't like my pickled vegetables all that much." replied Naruto. The Hokage made a face upon the mention of the preserved food.

"I don't know why you liked pickled vegetables in the first place." said the aged leader with a shudder. "I prefer meat; rare, red meat."

"You know, too much meat is not good for your cholesterol, jiji." Naruto chided the man before placing the box of Onigiris in front of the Hokage who immediately took one and downed it into a single bite before giving him a glare.

"I rue the day I introduced you to Isshin. Since he started teaching you to follow a healthy lifestyle, you've been pestering me about my diet for months." huffed the Hokage before taking another rice ball, this time, he took a small bite and chewed it slowly with a moan. "You're really a good cook, Naruto-kun. I hope you make some of your delicious sushi in the future. It's to die for."

Naruto laughed and seated himself in front of the Hokage who was busy eating his third helping.

"The salmons are still too small at this time of the year, jiji. I promise to make you some next month when the ones I'm growing are fully matured." promised Naruto thinking about the make-shift fishpond he had below the waterfall in his clearing. He would purchase some live fish from the visiting merchants and grew his own, effectively giving him a fresh supply of fish if the season was kind to him. This offering made the Hokage grin in happiness.

Naruto exchanged a light conversation with his surrogate grandfather until after the last Onigiri was shoved down the old man's gullet.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Naruto-kun. Now, let's discuss the position I had in mind for you. But before that, let me go through with the evaluation from your teachers for the past year." Naruto nodded in agreement. Sarutobi pulled out a scroll from his hidden drawer and proceeded to read from it.

"Let me see, stealth, medical knowledge, interrogation techniques, strategy and tactics, as well as kenjutsu are properly trained. I would say that you're perfect for the position I'm offering you."

"Aw shucks, old man, you're making me blush." said Naruto with an absolutely straight face but the twitching of his lips was a testament that he was holding back a smile.

"Indeed. Anyway, the position I had in mind for you is to become my hidden shinobi so to speak; a special operations shinobi under my direct command. All your missions will be assigned by me, whether alone or to work with another team. You are not allowed to show yourself in public so I advise you to keep wearing that demon mask of yours during missions. No one is to know of your existence. Only a few people know of your identity so I suggest you keep it that way. In a way, you're my trump card, so to speak."

"And what is the name of my position, jiji?" Naruto asked curiously though excitement was evident in his voice when the Hokage listed down his job description.

"You will be known as 'Kage's Hand' and the first of my Special Operations Division." Sarutobi informed him with a proud smile.

"Kage's Hand, huh? Sounds good." Naruto said with a nod. "So when would I be starting getting missions, old man?"

"Actually, I have the perfect mission for you Naruto-kun if you chose to accept it. Consider this as your final test, so to speak." Naruto nodded eagerly causing the Hokage to chuckle. "We have received word from one of our spies outside the village that the A-Rank missing-nin, Aoi Rokusho, was sighted in an abandoned village northeast of Konoha. Your mission, if you chose to accept it, is to find Aoi and retrieve that Nidaime's Raijin no Ken from his person. Aoi is to be brought in dead or alive."

"By dead or alive, you mean _preferably_ alive than dead, right?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow and took the mission scroll that the Hokage offered to him.

"It's up to you. If you can bring him alive then good since I want Ibiki and Anko to have a go at him to see if he has any sensitive information that would be crucial to Konoha's defense. If dead then it's no loss since he is a renegade shinobi."

Naruto nodded and opened the scroll to read through his mission objective. Memorizing its content, he used a seal-less _Katon_ jutsu to burn it, earning an approving nod from the Hokage who expected him to do so.

"I guess I better get going, jiji. The sooner I get this mission done, the better." said Naruto before standing up from his seat. He pulled out his demon mask from his kimono and placed it on. With a nod, he exited the office using _Shunpo_ to get started with his first mission as Kage's Hand leaving the aged leader to visibly shudder at the image of the mask portrayed on the boy's skills.

"prince indeed." whispered the Hokage before remembering the words of the Iwa shinobi who Naruto left alive after slaughtering the rest of his companions. "The legend of **konoha no guren no ouji (Konoha's crimson prince)** begins. Good luck, Naruto-kun."

 **Scene change**

Naruto was standing on top of a large boulder on a small hill behind the abandoned village where Aoi was said to use as a base along with the rest of his troops. The masked blonde let his eyes memorize every building and alley of the small village while counting the number of bandits and thugs walking around. From the looks of it, they weren't expecting any form of attack judging from their loud behavior.

" _Not really that organized, aren't they?"_ Naruto commented as he observed a few of the bandits fighting over a bottle of sake.

" **What do you expect? They're bandits after all. Sure, this missing nin must have whipped them into shape or something considering that they follow him but deep down, they're still thugs."** replied Kurama as he observed the arguing drunks through Naruto's sight **. "Aren't you going down there and get the job done?"**

" _Not yet. I think it's a bit foolish to just go down there with swords blazing without knowing exactly the number of Aoi's troops. I'm sure that he's here somewhere though I'm not a sensor so I can't get a lock on him. Considering his rank, he should be the only one here with the highest chakra reserve in the area. It is quite possible that he has other missing nins with him due to his reputation of having the Raijin no Ken."_

" **Then stealth is the answer then."** Kurama agreed. **"Why don't you use some of my kin to stalk the village below? Find out their exact numbers. And I know just the fox to do it."**

" _Oh?"_

" **I told you when I let you sign the contract that the foxes are well known for their stealth and infiltration capabilities. Except for me, none of them are fighters. However, there is one fox that is a sensor and can detect any chakra and life signatures with ease. If you want to summon him then I suggest you do the usual summoning hand seals then call out the technique though you need to call out his name to bring out the right one."**

" _What's the fox's name?"_

" **Akira."**

Naruto gave the fox a mental nod before moving back a few steps to hide himself better since the smoke from the summoning would be easily seen by the sentries below. Judging that he was far enough, he blurred through hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground.

" **Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Akira."**

When the smoke disappeared, a small brown fox the size of a small pup was sitting on his haunches and looking at him with excitement.

" **Hi there. I guess you're our new summoner, huh?"** Akira said excitedly. He sniffed the air a bit and tilted his head to the side. **"Why do you smell like Kurama-sama?"**

"Um…hi. You must be Akira. I smell like Kurama because he is currently sealed inside me. I'm his jinchuuriki. My name is Naruto, by the way." Naruto informed the fox, a grin behind his mask.

" **I see. Well, Naruto-sama, what can I do for you?"** inquired the fox with an enthusiastic wag of his tail.

"There is a town below that I need you to scout for me. Try to find out how many people there are and try to detect the strength of their chakra signatures to see if there is any shinobi among them. Try to determine the exact location of the strongest chakra signature in the area and report to me after you have all the information."

The fox nodded and shimmered a bit before disappearing. This caught Naruto by surprise.

" _What in the world was that?"_ Naruto asked his tenant.

" **That was Akira's special skill. A form of invisibility technique that is unique to my clan and he is the most skilled user of it. In fact, even I have trouble finding him if he doesn't want to be found. He is the best infiltrator among all the foxes which makes him the best in this type of situation. I think you already know that he's a sensor so detecting chakra is quite easy for him."**

" _I see. Then I guess that all we need to do is wait before we get a full report from Akira when he gets back."_ said Naruto as he walked back to edge of the hill to continue his vigil of the village below.

It was an hour later that Akira returned to give Naruto a full report of the village below. According to the fox, Aoi had a total of 73 men, 10 of them were missing-nins with chakra signatures ranging from low-Genin to mid-Chuunin. However, the most disturbing report was Aoi's chakra signature which was in mid-Jounin. Naruto wasn't worried about it much considering who he was and what he was capable of but it wouldn't hurt to make a plan of attack just in case.

After half an hour of coming up with a plan; Naruto, Kurama, and Akira decided to do an infiltration-slash-assassination mission. Akira would be tucked inside Naruto's kimono and advice Naruto to the location of the missing nins since they would have to be taken out first. The bandits could be handled last since there were more along the line of cannon fodder if nothing else. After depositing Akira inside his kimono with the fox's head poking out of his chest, he disappeared from the hill using _Shunpo_ to start the operation.

 **Scene change**

Taking out the relatively weak missing nins were quite easy. Sticking to the shadows, a few uses of _Kuki Yubi (Air Finger)_ here and there, a subdued version of it of course, and they're out like a light. It was at this point that Akira informed him of another skill that the fox would use to help him along. Naruto discovered that Akira could extend his invisibility technique to him if he stood still. It wasn't perfect but it was good if you want to hide and remain undiscovered.

After making sure that the small fries were unconscious and properly bound, Naruto made his way to the building where Aoi and some of the stronger missing nins were holding a conference. He managed to reach the room undetected and Akira cloaked him with his invisibility technique.

"So, Aoi-san, when will the diplomat from Amegakure get here?" asked one of the shinobis in the room.

Aoi, who was twirling the Raijin no Ken in one hand, looked at the shinobi with a smirk on his face.

"He should be here in an hour or two. After all, he would be escorting us to Ame to become official shinobis again. I'm getting tired of operating with bandits and having to hide from shinobis and bounty hunters. Besides, I heard that Ame is taking in missing nins these days and giving them some good jobs to earn some descent cash." Aoi informed them. "This wouldn't have been possible if Hanzo was still in control. I heard that the new leader made the new rules. I guess they needed the extra manpower for all those shinobis that died in the battle."

" _Shit."_ Naruto cursed mentally. _"If I want to bring bring in Aoi and get the Raijin no Ken then I better to do it before the Ame diplomat arrives."_

" **You should. Besides, you can easily take them if you want. He might be an A-rank missing nin but he could never compare to your skills."** Kurama pointed out.

" _I think you seem to forget that there are still the rest of the missing nins in the room. Sure, I could take them out but I don't think that is possible without them getting a hit or two on me. However…"_ Naruto trailed off before extending his index finger towards one of the missing nins in the room. Akira said that the invisibility technique would work if he stood still. Moving a finger shouldn't be a problem. Gathering his _Reiryoku_ for a continuous shot, he aimed.

" **kuki Yubi (Air Finger) ."** He whispered to release the jutsu. His shot was accurate and hit one of the missing nins at the rear of the ground on the head, killing him instantly. His plan was to thin the herd without making any noise, however, he miscalculated. Before he could fire another shot of his spell, the missing nins caught sight of their downed companion and shouted a warning.

"Ginjo!" one of them shouted before pulling out a kunai. The rest of the group followed his example. Aoi, on the other hand, activated the Raijin no Ken, causing the somewhat ornate handle to produce a blade of pure lightning.

"Show yourself." Aoi demanded as he scoured the room for the intruder.

Not having any more choice in the matter, Naruto whispered to Akira to drop the invisibility technique and to return back to the summoning world. The fox gave him a worried look before following his summoner's order and remove the technique before dispelling in a puff of smoke. Considering that he was still hidden in the shadows, Naruto took a deep breath and stepped out causing the people in the room to look at him fearfully.

"Who're you?" one of the missing nins barked. Aoi, on the other hand, was giving masked Naruto a speculative look before a grin stole into his face.

"If I would hazard a guess, you would be a bounty hunter from Konoha judging from the lack of Hitai-ate." Aoi said with a sneer though he was inwardly fearful of the imposing mask that the person was wearing, not to mention the posture which screamed powerful. Despite being in the Konoha ranks before his theft of the Nidaime's relic, he didn't recognize the powerful figure in front of him which made him nervous.

"You don't need to know who I am, Aoi Rokusho, A-rank missing nin from Konohagakure no Sato." said Naruto, thanking Kami for his demon mask giving his voice a deeper tone.

"Is that so?" said Aoi before pointing the Raijin towards the demon-masked individual and barking out an order to attack. "Get him!"

Naruto immediately placed his hand on his sword and drew it out just in time to block a kunai thrust. Not wanting to stay in one place, he kicked the shinobi to push him away before using _Shunpo_ to disappear and reappear in front of a startled nin from behind the attacking group. With a smooth swing of his blade, he slashed at the neck with all of his strength cutting right through it, killing him. He turned to face the other opponents but froze when one of the shinobis just finished his preparation for a jutsu.

" **Katon: gokakyu no Jutsu (grand fireball technique)!"**

A large fireball xame out from the mouth of the nin and flew towards Naruto at amazing speed. Since he didn't have any place to maneuver considering the size of the room, he darted towards the lone window and jumped out, breaking the glass in the process. He didn't bother turning as the room exploded from the power of the attack.

When he landed, he was immediately surrounded by what's left of the missing nin, putting the fight six to one.

"You're going to pay for that." growled one of the nins as he flew through a set of hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.

" **Doton: doryutaiga (earth release: Mud River Flow)"**

Naruto immediately jumped when the ground beneath him turned into a torrent of mud. Not wanting to waste his maneuver, he flipped and channeled a burst of Fuuton chakra to his feet to create a solid platform. With a burst of strength, he launched himself to one of his enemies while flipping Benehime to put the bladed edge to the fore. And using the moment of his jump he brought his sword in an over head strike positions and brought his blade down on his opponent.

With his speed, the missing nin wasn't able to dodge the attack resulting in him being cleaved in half from head to groin. The rest of the nins saw the attack but their experience allowed them to shrug off the gruesome sight and attack en masse.

Naruto, considering the number of enemies he was facing despite already getting rid of one, decided to dodge and parry the attacks while waiting for the right opening to counter. Thankfully, his mastery of kenjutsu allowed him to dodge the various attacks with ease while keeping an eye for a weakness that he could exploit.

One of the nins overextended a kunai thrust which Naruto immediately saw. Not wasting time, he maneuvered Benehime into an upward slash that removed the man's hand from the elbow. Using the momentum from the swing, Naruto did a 360 spin and did a backward slash which cut the man in two from the waist.

The rest of the nins were shivering in fear as they saw another one of their comrade die a gruesome death from the demon-masked fighter. His speed was uncanny and his sword skill was like a dance of death.

Deciding to end it all, Naruto utilized _Shunpo_ to appear and disappear, removing the nin's arms from the shoulder with ease effectively making them useless in a fight. After all, even if they were shinobis, having no hands made it impossible for them to attack using Ninjutsu or Taijutsu. He continued doing this until only Aoi was left; said nin was looking at him in fear.

"Demon," Aoi whispered fearfully as he brought up Raijin to defend himself. Naruto saw that despite Aoi's status as an A-rank shinobi, the missing-nin was inept in kenjutsu judging from the way he was holding Raijin in a somewhat passable defensive stance.

"Demon?" said Naruto in a cold voice which almost made Aoi pee in his pants. "No no my friend I am no demon all I am is a prince. Call me ouji sama..." he mocked him.

Managing to get his backbone up, Aoi sneered at him.

"Ouji sama, huh?" said Aoi bravely, using his mental training to push down the fear creeping up on him. "then I suppose You will have to defend your kingdom from me!." he said and Naruto raised an eyebrow to the lame comeback.

Aoi launched forward at Jounin-level speed and swung down Raijin, intending to split his opponent in two. Naruto saw the attack as if it was in slow motion thanks to his training with Kurama and Benehime and brought her up to block it. It was a big mistake, however, considering the composition of the blade he was about to parry. When the metal of his Sakabatou hit the lightning-based blade of Raijin, a powerful current of electricity flowed through the metal and electrocuted him on the spot.

Naruto gritted his teeth to stop himself from screaming and managed to free himself by jumping back. The loss of contact with the famed Raijin stopped the flow of electricity but the newly-named Oni could still feel some of it under his skin.

"As you can see, there is no way for you to defeat me, Oni." Aoi said with a sneer, his courage at its peak considering how his weapon was able to do damage to the powerful swordsman he was facing. "With the Raijin no Ken, I am invincible."

Naruto was able to get rid of the electricity flowing through his body thanks to Kurama's interference. He pulled in a deep breath before straightening up, Kenshin beside him, pointing downwards.

"I see. Considering that my sword is made of metal, it is only logical for it to conduct electricity from the lightning blade of the Raijin no Ken. I underestimated its power and will never do so again." Naruto declared before channeling a flow of futon chakra into Benehime, making the blade glow white. He practiced with this skill from time to time during his training and discovered that unlike the other elements, using futon and Raiton chakra, his affinities, on the blade actually made sure that it was protected from elemental attacks.

Not bothering using _Shunpo_ , Naruto launched himself at Aoi and swung his futon-coated blade at the missing nin. Aoi was surprised at the speed which surpassed his own and was barely able to parry the swing with Raijin. The missing-nin was surprised, however, when his opponent wasn't screaming in pain when the two blades connected. His gaze flew to the locked blades and noticed that the electricity wasn't being conducted by his opponent's sword.

Naruto saw that the Nidaime's sword was effectively neutralized by his _Reiryoku;_ he channeled a bit of _chakra_ to his muscles and pushed the startled missing nin back and launched another swing which Aoi barely dodged. They continued their dance of swords, shikomizue (a blade hidden inside a cane) against Raijin. Despite Aoi's lack of a kenjutsu style, he was still a Jounin and could still follow the trajectory of Naruto's swing to parry or dodge.

Aoi jumped back and did a few one hand seals before shouting out his technique to buy himself some breathing room.

" **Fuuton: renkudan (Wind Release dripping Air Bullet)."** Aoi screamed before slamming his free fist to his gut and blew out a bullet of compressed air. Naruto saw the attack and channeled a bit of chakra to the palm of his left hand to produce the right jutsu.

" **kekkai ninjutsu Dankū (barrier ninjutsu Splitting Void)"** whispered Naruto as he brought his left hand, palm outward, towards the incoming attack. A defensive wall is created to protect against an enemy's attack. Naruto created a translucent barrier in the form of a large rectangular wall. The air bullet impacted Naruto's defense, causing the two to negate each other.

"What kind of jutsu is that?" shouted Aoi when he saw his attack disappear after impacting with the strange wall.

"Nothing that you should know about, Aoi Rokusho." said Naruto before sweating Benehime.

"Ha! Whatever it is you did, it's useless. You could no defeat me using your pathetic sword. And you think you can beat me without it." declared Aoi as he flipped through another set of one-handed seals. Naruto didn't give him time to finish the technique and launched his next attack, which were the last words Aoi would hear before succumbing to darkness

" **An (** **闇** **, Darkness)** " started Naruto as he used his right hand to write the character **闇** in the air. Said character Covered the entire area with darkness, making Aoi miss his jutsu.

 **"Sen (** **閃** **, Flash)"** continued Naruto as he used his right hand to write the character **閃** in the air. Said character Blinded his enemi with a flash of light.

 **"iwa (** **岩** **, rock)** " finished Naruto as he wrote the last character, the character for **岩** **.** This character allowed Naruto to immobilise his target. Seeing his target immobilised, Naruto walked towards the missing nin and chanelled some Raiton chakra into his hand, before touching Aoi, causing the jounin to screamed in pain before he lost contiousness. Seeing his job done, he allowed himself to sight in relief before asking his tenants

'how was I?'

'well, Naruto kun, your swordsmanship was excellent, and I see that there is still some areas to work on, especially your Strenght.' started the sword spirit.

" **the execution of your kanji was flawless, if a bit slow, practice that when we go home."** finished the fox.

" _Thanks for the evaluation, Kurama, Benehime. I guess we can call this mission a success."_ said Naruto before sheathing Kenshin back into its sheath and approached the downed form of Aoi. He noticed that the missing nin was still breathing though the white in his eyes showed that he was deeply out of it.

Naruto picked up the Raijin no Ken and tucked it inside his kimono before hefting the missing nin over his shoulder. He grunted a bit at the weight but it became bearable when he channeled a bit of _chakra_ to his muscles. He looked around and decided to leave the rest of the missing nins since they weren't part of his mission objective. Casting one last look around, he jumped and created a platform of _futon chakra_ below him before using _Shunpo_ to return to Konoha at full speed.

 **Scene change**

It didn't take long for Naruto to reach Konoha since he was taking the high road while carrying his unconscious passenger. He bypassed the gate and made his way to the Hokage's office and entered via the opened window. He saw that the Hokage was still awake despite being 10 in the evening.

"Hiyah, old man. Mission accomplished." Naruto said cheerfully before dumping the unconscious Aoi on the floor causing the Hokage to look at him with looks of awe and pride. He pulled out Raijin no Ken from his kimono and placed it on the table. "There you go. One Raijin no Ken, safe and sound."

"That was fast, Naruto-kun." commented the Hokage before inspecting the Raijin with a keen eye. He nodded and gave the boy a grin. "I would say that this is your first successful A-Rank mission. I commend you for finishing it within 24-hours. A feat if I do say so myself."

"He was quite easy to find since you already gave me his exact position. Besides, one of Kurama's family members was able to help me infiltrate their camp with ease and I took down the missing nins there before taking care of Aoi." remarked Naruto before briefing the Hokage of everything that happened during the mission.

"I see. Congratulations on your success and I am happy to inform you that the position of Kage's Hand is yours to keep until you want to step down from your position." the Hokage informed him before pulling out a payment voucher from his table and handing it to his surrogate grandson. "This is your payment for a successful A-Rank mission. Just present it anytime at the mission hall in the first floor to get your money. You're free until your next mission."

Naruto nodded and took off his mask. He remembered something.

"Old man, while I was fighting Aoi, he gave me a new nickname. So if I wear this mask, I suggest that you call me ouji. Not only would it give me an identity, it would keep my real identity a secret." The blonde informed his surrogate grandfather.

"ouji , huh? I agree with you. I'll make sure to add your new name to my personal file. Just to warn you, it is quite possible that you would be assigned missions along with other shinobis so I would be addressing you as ouji on official meetings. Understood?"

"Understood, Hokage-sama." said Naruto with a bow before giving the old man a cheeky grin. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to my hut for a good night's rest. I still have some personal training to do tomorrow since I discovered that one of my ultimate techniques takes a lot out of me."

With that, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves leaving a chuckling Hokage and an unconscious Aoi behind.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The crimson prince.**_

 **Chapter 4:**

It's been six months since Naruto accepted his position as Kage's Hand and his days were filled with training and missions. It was a life he enjoyed despite the fact that some of his missions required him to kill.

But despite being exposed to the harsh world of shinobis, Naruto was already emotionally prepared and was able to handle certain missions that required him to take a life. He didn't have to like it; he just had to do it. Besides, he had no qualms in killing since his targets were considered as scum, ranging from rapists to killers.

Naruto couldn't help but deny the fact that he was fitting into his moniker, the guren no ouji, a demon in the world that had no problem shedding blood. He wasn't a cold-hearted killer but he had his moments.

Outside of missions, all his time was dedicated to training, honing his old abilities and inventing new ones, especially in the field of Kekkai ninjutsu.

After his mission to retrieve the Raijin no Ken from Aoi Rokusho, the following missions were more exciting and some of them allowed Naruto to work with some Jounins and ANBU of Konoha that the Hokage permitted to know his existence as Kage's Hand. His position and identity as ouji and Uzumaki Naruto was known to a chosen few, namely ANBU, Itachi, Shisui and of course, the Hokage himself. The rest were oblivious to his existence.

Speaking of existence, it seemed that his prowess in the field of missions earned him a place in the Bingo Book.

In a span of six months and the type of slaughter he was doing to his enemies, he became an A-Rank Bounty. It seemed that his alter ego, Oni the Hitokiri Battousai, was starting to attain the level of becoming a legend. Thankfully, none except for a select few knew of his existence and his position as a Konoha citizen which made quite a lot of bounty hunters who were after his blood pull out their hair in frustration.

In fact, the Hokage informed him that there was a rumor in the shinobi world that his ghost-like existence and impeccable success in his missions would eventually move him to become an S-Rank bounty if he kept it up.

Of course, none of the civilians were aware of his existence as the Hitokiri Battousai since he didn't display his skills to the public nor was he carrying his sword with him to be seen by the crowd. In fact, it was the Hokage who informed him to refrain from wearing his mask or his Benehime since those were Oni's most identifiable traits.

To that end, Naruto decided to seal these two items inside the storage seal in his left hand just in case he needed them immediately for a mission. His outfit of blue kimono, white hakama, and geta sandals remained since quite a lot of people in the Elemental Nation wore them.

 **Scene change**

A 10-year old Naruto was toiling in his vegetable garden when a cry disturbed him from his favorite chore. He looked up and saw one of the Hokage's messenger hawks circling above him.

Frowning, Naruto stood up, brushing the loose soil that clung to his hakama before releasing a piercing whistle to inform the circling hawk to come to him. Instead of raising his hand, the bird simply landed on his right shoulder and nudged him on the cheek with its head.

"Hello there, girl." Naruto greeted the bird. This particular hawk was his favorite and the Hokage used this one particular to send him a message. After meeting the bird so many times for the past six months, they became friends and would even sometimes visit him without a delivery. "The old man has a message for me?"

The hawk simply held out one of its legs where a scroll was tied to it. Carefully undoing the knot, he retrieved the scroll and opened it to read the Hokage's message.

 **Naruto,**

 **Come to my office ASAP. There is a mission that requires your expertise. Make sure you arrive in full ensemble since your partners will be here for debriefing.**

 **Sandaime Hokage**

"Huh? I guess this is a serious mission then if I have to come in with my mask on. Oh well, might as well get this over and done with." remarked Naruto with a shrug before tossing the scroll in the air and destroying it with a low-powered _Byakurai_. Looking at the hawk that was preening its feathers while being perched on his shoulder, he spoke "You want to come with me to see the old man, girl?"

The bird simply nodded before going back to its chore which made Naruto chuckle. He raised his left hand and unsealed the items to complete his costume. He placed the scarf around his neck, Kenshin on his hip, and the demon mask on his face.

Without saying a word, Naruto disappeared using _Shunpo_ with his feathery passenger in tow.

 **Scene change**

When Naruto arrived at the office, he saw no one but the Sandaime, he looked at his grandfather figure before saying.

"Hey, jiji what do you need." he asked and Hiruzen just sighed knowing this will not be easy for the blonde, he loved Itachi and Shisui though he will deny the later.

"Naruto, there will be an important meeting I want you to see in this office so just hide for a bit and tell me what you think about it." Naruto just shrugged and summoned Akira before the fox used its ability to hide both him and its summoner. A few minutes later came three people.

Mitokado Homura, was a shinobi war veteran, In his old age, Homura is depicted with grey hair, a beard, glasses as well as a constant frown that he's always worn, even in his youth. He also has a strong jaw-line a facial structure he has retained even in his old age. As a member of the Konoha Council, he wears similar garbs to those that Hiruzen would when acting in his capacity as Hokage.

Koharu Utatane was a beautiful kunoichi with dark eyes. Her hair is pulled back in a twin bun locked by a traditional Japanese hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side. She also had fringes that covered her forehead protector. Her shinobi outfit consisted of a simple black outfit, a grey breastplate, arm guards, fishnet tights with a skirt over it, a pouch strapped to her back with bandages, and regular shinobi sandals. During the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, she was seen in the same outfit as her team-mates Hiruzen and Homura, complete with a gauntlet on her right arm and mesh armour. In her old age, she maintains her original hairstyle without the bangs. The pearls on her hair needle have also increased and tassels were added to the other end. Her earrings are also considerably longer. As a member of the Konoha Council, Koharu wears a simple long kimono, closed by an obi, a jacket, and a sash over it. Koharu has also taken to squinting, barely opening her eyes at any point in time.

Danzō appeared as a frail, old man, who would normally walk with a cane. He had black, shaggy hair, and his right eye was bandaged concealing a Sharingan underneath. Danzō has had an x-shaped scar on his chin ever since his youth. He wore a white shirt, with a black or dark grey robe over the top of it covering from his feet, to just over his right shoulder. The robe conceals his right arm which was bandaged, and covered with three large golden braces.

After exchanging some pleasantries with each other, the elders sat down and waited for someone, Naruto did not understand what was his role in all this, but he shutted up and waited. Fifteen minutes later, both Itachi and Shisui appeared, in a kneeling position and Itachi said

"Hokage sama, honorable elders, the Uchiha clan is still on its plan, the coup will happen in three months." he announced.

"I see," started Homura "We will have no choice but to execute them. With a few teams of ANBU we can easily do It."

"Enough! Stop talking about the Uchiha like that in front of Itachi and Shisui like that. Sigh, here is what will happen, Itachi you and Shisui will kill the Uchiha clan in two months. The only survivors will be Mikoto Uchiha and Uchiha Sasuke, then you will go undercover in the Organisation that Jiraiya told me about understood?"

""Hai"" said both anbu

"dismissed" and both the elders and The Uchiha left.

After that Akira dropped the camouflage ability and left, leaving both Naruto and Hiruzen face to face

"please don't tell me the genocide will happen." he begged Hiruzen

"I am sorry, It will happen, just not like what I just said." answered the hokage

"what do you mean?"

"you will do it, and I want to be without any loose ends. So what is the plan?" he asked Naruto who just remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"well, I have a plan, missing nins, I do the deed and blame it on some missing nins from various villages that have a grudge against the Uchiha clan, that way there will be no repercussions, since the 'perpetrators' will be 'killed' by the Uchiha clan during the massacre. All we will need is a doctor willing to falsify the forensics." said Naruto and Sarutobi was impressed with the blonde's intelligence

"I can have Isshin do It, he wouldn't even ask why, he is that loyal to me." said Sarutobi

"No, It won't work, we need someone both aknowledged as a great med nin but that doesn't have great loyalty to you, like Tsunade for exemple." said Naruto and Sarutobi nodded again convinced by Naruto's logic

"I can have Jiraiya return with her in a few weeks, will that be fine."

"OK, have Itachi and Shisui sent on a week long mission in six weeks, I will take the time to prepare myself for my mission, as for Tsunade have her brought back four days after the massacre." said the blonde before he left in a Shunpo.

 **Time skip six weeks**

It has been six weeks since that discussion and Naruto was standing before the Uchiha clan compound at night, It has been 1 day since both Itachi and Shisui had been sent on some bullshit mission. The compound sits to the west, near the village's training grounds, and is designed to be a mixture of Japanese and Western architecture. Modern utilities such as electricity, plumbing, and air conditioning are implemented, though some of the more old-fashioned Uchiha may prefer to use torch light. It was composed of many buildings

Uchiha Police Department:

The center for any Uchiha law enforcement activity; it is built near the Uchiha housing complexes. Here, visitors are inspected for weapons and are to check them in. The department building consists of several office rooms where paper work is processed, a detention center for suspects and criminals under arrest, interrogation rooms for those who do not fall under the protections of Konoha's laws (becoming increasingly active and heavily guarded as these times of conflict proceed), forensics labs, and evidence rooms. The detention center is designed mainly for holding civilians. Shinobi that need to be detained will be handled by the Hokage's units/facilities.

To keep up with clan traditions, the architecture of the main compound is purely Japanese. The main family used to be the sole occupants to the main compound, but after several tragedies, many branch families have moved in. Among them are the clan head's adoptive family. There are two wings to the main compound. The east wing is for the clan head and clan elders, while the west wing is for branch families and the servants. They meet up to an extravagantly large dining hall, where both sides may sit down and eat together. Watching over them all, is a ceiling mural of Amaterasu.

Naruto walked sadly towards the lodgings of a clan, a clan of 230 people, 226 of them will not see the light of another day, six weeks was the time it took Naruto to find the nukenin that will take the fall, find them and kill them will making sure their bodies are not too damaged. It was a hassle, he had to find Nuke that not only were strong enough to do the deed, but not too strong so that he can't kill them, they had to have some sort of interactions in their past, they had to have a certain skill set and they had to have a grudge against the Uchiha clan. He settled for four Nuke nin that could do the deed and that he could mimic their abilities.

The first was Recca Hanabishi, an A rank Nuke nin from kusa, who specialized in Katon ninjutsu, his reason for hating the Uchiha clan was that an Uchiha raped an killed his wife during the Third great Shinobi War.

The second was Domon Ishijima, an Iwa jounin that specialized In Doton ninjustu, he lost his brother to a group of Uchiha members who tortured and killed him during a mission, this guy in retaliation went rogue and started raping and killing all Uchiha kunoichi he came across, before crushing their eyes.

The third was Yoshimori Sumimura, a Kekkai ninjutsu specialist, this guy had all his family killed by none other than Fugaku Uchiha, he went rogue and started killing all konoha shinobi, but any Uchiha he found he tortured them for days before he killed them violently.

The last Nuke nin, was arashi kazuma, he was a powerful jounin of Sunagakure, but during the third Ninja war his parents were killed by Mikoto Uchiha since then he sword vengeance and started killing all Konoha shinobi in his sights.

Naruto was not wearing his traditional outfit, he was wearing anbu gear along with a black trench coat, on his right shoulder was strapped a tanto, on his face was a white mask with a purple lightning symbol over the right eye. It also has a thin red slit across the mouth, the mask was not a regular mask either, It had seals on it that made both his hair and eyes look Black. When he arrived near the gate he saw two Uchihas guarding the gates ofthe compound, they didn't even get a time to scream before both their throats were slits by Naruto's tanto, Naruto entered the compound before he slapped both his hands together and whispered " **Hachigyō Sōgai (Eight Joined Twin Cliffs)** " and a double dislocation barrier which erases whatever is within it from existence and removes the space it takes up from an outsider's inner consciousness was errected, the barrier was made that no one outside the barrier can even perceive its presence. The very thought of getting close to it does not even occur to those outside it. It is so powerful and unique in composition. That was the barrier that he designed solely for this mission, so that no one can interfere with his business. Naruto continued inside the compound and he met the first group of Uchihas, they saw him as well and they started going through some handsigns before saying " **katon: gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release great fireball jutsu)** " before shooting a giant fireball at Naruto. The blonde just said " **fuinjutsu Bō (** **防** **Bō)** " and used his tantō to write "防" (Bō) in the air, which created a strong defensive wall in the form of a kanji. The defense stopped the fire ball, Naruto dropped his tantō and used both hands to write kanji, the right hand wrote the kanji for **火** **(hi, fire)** while his left wrote the kanji for **Zan (** **斬** **Zan)** before bringing both his hands together and said " **fuinjutsu Tobu enjin (flying fire blade)** " and both kanji fused together and from the fusion came numerous flame blades, one of the Uchiha tried defending them by raising an earth wall but the blades cut right through it and killed the Uchihas, that technique was one of the techniques that made Rekka Hanabishi famous as the **hono no kotei (Fire emperor)**. He managed to recreate it by using fuinjutsu, he managed to do the same for the rest of the members of the 'team' he gathered so to speak. As he saw other members of the Uchiha clan coming his way, he sighed before returning to doing his duty.

 **Time skip 1 hour:**

One hour and 225 people later, Naruto found himself face to face with the main families dwelling, as he was about to go in he saw a seven years old Sasuke Uchiha looking at him. Before the child even said a word, Naruto appeared behind him and chopped him on the back of his neck, the Uchiha became unconscious instantly, that was the scene that Mikoto Uchiha, a fair-skinned woman with long, straight black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark purple blouse with a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron normally worn over it saw, she activated her sharingan and rushed Naruto but the masked shinobi merely whispered " **Senka (Flash Blossom)** " and using Shunpo he moved to the woman's back, and directly attacks and cuts the opponent with two rapid strikes. The technique was so fast, that the Uchiha matriarch was not be able to tell whether she was attacked from the front or the back, the Uchiha fell to the ground and Naruto stared at her, he knew that the woman will not die, he was ordered not to kill her but it still hurt him to have to do that, in his musings he did not feel Fugaku Uchiha, a man who had short, black hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-coloured eyes, with visible creases below them made more pronounced whenever he adopted a stern look (both of which Itachi inherited from him). He wore a simple kimono with grey pants which had the clan's symbol on the back when not on duty. He stabbed Naruto in the back before saying

"you were careless in the end assassin" he snarled but the assassin just looked at him and said " **Utsusemi (Cast-Off Cicada Shell)"** before he disappeared and all Fugaku stabbed through was the trench coat, Naruto appeared behind him and said "Goodbye Fugaku san" before he stabbed the man in his throat with the tantō on his back. After he finished his mission, he just used Shunpo to leave the area. He had to report to his jiji.

 **Scene change**

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not a happy man today, he had just ordered his surrogate grandson to slaughter an entire clan of konoha, the village that he swore to protect, he started grumbling "Fugaku you fool, all of this happened because you could not be happy with your stature in the village." he thought before he felt Naruto enter his office. He looked at Naruto and said

"report!"

"Hai, the Uchiha clan have been handled, the fall guys are in position and nothing has been left to chance."

"allright, Naruto kun good job"

"arigato jiji..." answered the blonde.

"And Naruto, there is no need to keep it in all the time, there is no weakness in admitting your weakness." the professor said, and like a damn being broken, Naruto broke in tears in Hiruzen's arms. The kami no shinobi stood up and hugged his grandson in all but blood.

 **Time skip one week**

Itachi and Shisui returned from their one week long, mission to Yugakure to verify the truth about some rumors that said that the village will become a shinobi village again. When they arrived at the gates, Kotetsu and Izumo informed them of what happened to their clan, they rushed to the hospital and found that Itachi's mother was just injured but nothing dangerous, as for Sasuke all he had was abump from falling after being hit on the back of his neck. They met Mikoto and she was going to be dismissed from the hospital on the same day. As they were talking about what happened an Anbu came and told them to go to the Hokage's office.

 **Scene change**

Tsunade Senju was average height with brown eyes and straight, blonde hair. Her hair is waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face. As an adult, Tsunade usually ties her hair into two loose ponytails. Some time after leaving the village, she obtained a violet rhombus mark on her forehead similar to her grandmother's, which she uses as a chakra gathering point known as the Strength of a Hundred Seal. Now in her fifties, Tsunade has aged considerably. However, she maintains the appearance of her younger self through a unique and constant Transformation Technique. In her prime, the appearance she normally takes, she has a slender frame. Despite being known as flat-chested in her childhood, she now has a rather large bust; 106 centimeters in circumference, according to Jiraiya. Her beauty has been pointed out several times and she's been called the most beautiful kunoichi in the world.

She often wears a grass-green haori with the kanji for "gamble" (賭, kake) written in black on the back, inside a red circle. Underneath she wears a grey, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-grey obi that matches her pants. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizeable cleavage. She wears open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails. She also wears a soft pink lipstick. She also wears her grandfather's necklace in clear view on her chest. By her side was her teammate Jiraiya

Jiraiya was a tall man with waist-length, spiky white hair usually tied back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs that framed both sides of his face. He also had red lines that ran down from his eyes and wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil" (油, abura), which denotes his affiliation with Mount Myōboku. He also had a noticeable wart on the left side of his nose. Jiraiya wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants; under which he wore mesh armour that showed out of the sleeves and legs of his outfit. His outfit was completed with hand guards, a simple black belt, traditional Japanese geta (wooden sandals), a red haori with two simple yellow circles on each side, and a scroll on his back. They were both in Hiruzen's office and Tsunade was pissed, the old man called her back to do an autopsy to the dead during the Uchiha massacre but so far she had not seen a single body. She looked at he teacher before saying

"Sensei, you called me to do the autopsy but I have not been allowed to come near the bodies on your orders. What the hell is going on?" she said but Hiruzen merely looked at her before tossing a file at her and he said

"Here is the autopsy, just sign it, as for why you are here, you are here to do your duty as a Konohagakure kunoichi, you wanted to start a med nin program, I will allow It, I have both the funds and the man power, all you need to do is start your program." he said and Tsunade just nodded dumbly. Jiraiya on the other hand, felt that something was not as it seemed and asked Hiruzen

"the Uchiha massacre was It an inside job." to which Hiruzen nodded.

After a while both the elders and The Uchiha trio came into the room, and Hiruzen simply started smoking his pipe, t'en minutes went by and Hiruzen said nothing, finally Koharu could not handle it anymore and said

"Hiruzen we should really start the meeting, we are all busy people here..." but she was interrupted by a blast of KI from Hiruzen

"you will adresse me as Hokage sama, Koharu or I will have you killed for insubordination, understood?" and Koharu nodded "as for the meetings, the last person is doing a mission for me, when he finishes he will come." and he returned to smoking his pipe. One hour later, a bloodied Naruto came through the window surprising everyone, he had both his mask and his hat on so only Itachi and Shisui Knew who he was. Hiruzen smirked and said

"so how wsa your errand, ouji kun." Naruto merely nodded and said

"my mission is a success, the target has been silenced."

"good, now Koharu, Homura, Danzo, tell me you said that I was senile when I allowed Naruto to not attend the shinobi academy, right?" said Hiruzen and all three elders nodded before started

"yes Hiruzen the kyubi is a weapon and he should have been given to me to train him as a weapon loyal to konoha." said the warhawk. Hiruzen merely nodded before he looked at Naruto who gave a piece of metal with a seal on it, he placed it in his cristal ball before a projection appeared and they saw Naruto slaughtering the rooot ANBU, Danzo was seething at what was happening, and he started looking for an exit when he saw that Naruto had all exited covered. After the projection ended he looked at Hiruzen who nodded at him before he removed his mask, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Mikoto were surprised by the discovery, as for Hiruzen he merely shrugged before he looked at his elders and said

"Now, do you still think I am senile, Naruto kun finish your work here then you can leave." Naruto nodded and before anyone can react he appeared behind Danzō and ripped his head from his shoulders, seeing his work done he bidon Hiruzen farewell and left the adults talking.

 **Scene change**

It has been three months since Naruto massacred the Uchiha clan and Root, he spent the time préparent himself for the next assignement that Hiruzen had for him. SHIELD (acronyme for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division) is going to be the replacement for Root anbu, even though tne warhawk was an evil son of a bitch, he was a necessary evil son of a bitch, the darkness of the shinobi world was needed, and Naruto was chosen to lead an elite Unit of konoha shinobi to fight the wars so that nobody else fights them, to become monsters so that others don't have to. But that was not all that happened, Koharu and Homura were no longer elders, it was suggested that they retire, now Hiruzen was grooming Tsunade to take over him as Hokage soon. Speaking of Tsunade, him and her hit it off quite well, especially when they got drunks together one day, she evn thought him some medical ninjutsu, as for Jiraya, the guy was funny as hell, and It helped that he was going to take over the intelligence departement of SHIELD, so they both got together and ironed the finer details of the intelligence and Itachi understood why he did what he did and they became friends again, as for Mikoto, she did not like that he stabbed her but when she saw him again she hugged him and called said that she would never let him go again, he had to be pried from the woman's arms by both Itachi and Shisui.


End file.
